Melissa Andrada is a Creative DEI Strategic Advisor, Leadership Coach, Motivational Speaker and Workshop Facilitator collaborating with organizations that have included Amazon, AXIS Dance, Google, and Radical Candor to scale equity and education.
As a teenager, she co-ran a nonprofit called the Seattle Young People’s Project, organizing conferences for young women leaders to battle sexism, lobbying to undo racism into the Seattle School District and getting young people to take civic action in their communities. She went on to become a Chief Operations Officer of a VC-learning backed startup in London where she grew a team with 40% people of color, 40% women. Melissa frequently gives interactive motivational keynotes focused on empowering marginalized communities (LGBTQ2IA+, women, people of color) and influencing allies to care at organizations that have included The New York Times, Womxn of Color in Tech and Out in Tech.
Over the course of her career, Melissa co-founded the digital learning arm of the creative consultancy Wolff Olins where she was a lead strategist working in New York City and London.
One of her favorite projects was co-creating the original strategic vision for the online higher education provider FutureLearn as well as their first course, which has reached 100,000+ people. Outside of work and pandemic lockdown, Melissa can be found practicing a gentle yoga flow, surfing in Siargao, and writing heartfelt essays on what it means to be human.
How to have compassionate conversations about difficult sh*t
How can you have compassionate conversations around racism, transphobia and all forms of oppression?
