Melinda has long been affiliated with the Slifka Center, most recently spending afternoons waiting outside the Library while inspiring Yale students tutored her son for his bar mitzvah. Personally grateful for the magic that happens at Slifka, Melinda jumped at the opportunity to work with devoted volunteers and supporters to further Slifka’s mission.

Prior to joining Slifka, Melinda enjoyed a successful career in alumni relations and development at Harvard and Yale. She has also supported numerous smaller non-profits, especially those that help New Haven flourish. Melinda graduated from University of Wisconsin-Madison and was honored with a Wolfson Fellowship for Judaic Studies at Harvard Divinity School. She studied in the History of Religions doctoral program at University of Chicago before discovering a knack for business and earning an MBA at night at the University of New Haven. Melinda also studied for a year at the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. She has lived many years abroad and appreciates exploring diverse Jewish neighborhoods across the globe.

In her free time, Melinda enjoys reading widely, hiking Connecticut’s trails, adding native plants to her garden, and recently has been taking classes in the Peabody Museum’s Natural Science Illustration program. She enjoys spending time with her husband and teenage son, and their mischievous Australian Shepherd.