Melissa is a Certified Change Management Professional who has dedicated nearly 20 years to social work and child welfare programs. Beginning her career with Oklahoma Human Services, Melissa spent 15 years serving the agency in several roles, eventually advancing to the position of Child Welfare Supervisor. She has hands-on experience across the child welfare spectrum, from prevention efforts to keep families intact, to investigating child abuse and neglect, recruiting, assessing, and supporting foster parents, implementing initiatives to reduce shelter use, and training new child welfare workers. Through this extensive experience, she applied a heart forward approach to support children and families and those who serve them with empathy and care.
Since Melissa joined CSG in 2022, she has leveraged her program expertise to improve child welfare technology, acting as the Organizational Change Management and Communications Manager for CSG’s New Mexico Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System Project Management Office. She shares important perspectives with the CSG team and uses her service delivery experience and understanding to improve the work lives of child welfare agency staff.
Melissa says, “Throughout my career, I’ve seen the power of change. I wholeheartedly believe that change is inevitable, but positive outcomes are intentional. My journey from frontline child welfare to OCM practitioner has reinforced my belief that when we embrace change, we can create better systems, stronger support networks, and ultimately, better outcomes for children and families. I’m grateful for the opportunity to help those doing this important work to navigate change in a way that makes their jobs easier and their impact even greater.”
Thank you for the work that you do, Melissa! The way you have woven compassion into your career to support child welfare workers has helped numerous children and families!