Melissa Carrier
“With over 25 years of experience leading strategic initiatives and building organizations, I bring to Radiate Works a commitment to results. Through creative and community-centered approaches, I identify and capitalize on opportunities for organizations to adapt and grow as transformational leaders. An engineer by training, I love to design and implement solutions to complex problems across organizational boundaries. As an MBA, I am committed to making sure solutions are sustainable for the long term. My work as an executive director, funder and consultant in the corporate and nonprofit sectors has led to meaningful innovation and entrepreneurial practices. I bring my passion for teaching and keen ability to connect dots in unexpected ways to my work daily.”
Background
Melissa is the founder and former executive director of the Center for Social Value Creation at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. She joined the Smith School in 2006 after a decade of leading organizational growth for technology companies. Before launching the Center in 2009, Melissa led venture investment programs at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, creating the Social Venture Consulting program, a platform for students to apply their skills in designing scalable solutions for nonprofit and social enterprise organizations. At the Center for Social Value Creation, Melissa led strategic growth across co-curricular programs, curricula, research and career. In collaboration with the Provost’s office, Melissa led cross-campus initiatives to embed social entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland and taught undergraduate and graduate courses in social entrepreneurship and sustainability. She also served as Assistant Dean for the Office of Global Initiatives. After relocating to North Carolina in 2014, Melissa was appointed Director of the Office of Social Innovation at UNC-Chapel Hill where she led development of cross campus strategic initiatives to grow impact entrepreneurship including the Graduate Certificate in Innovation for the Public Good and Design Thinking services. She also served as professor of practice in Public Policy.
Melissa currently lives with her husband, three boys, and flat-coated retriever in Raleigh. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Ohio State University, and an MBA with honors from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.