Melissa Shillingford

Melissa Shillingford is the Founder of Make Ideas Work, a boutique  consulting company that offers human-centered management trainings and consulting services to organizations committed to social change. Melissa is passionate about supporting organizations with big ideas and to help their staff reach their goals. She has over 10 years of experience in designing, managing and facilitating cohort-based programs across the country. Melissa also has 15 years of experience facilitating skill-based trainings for a variety of industries. Some of her more popular and highly engaging trainings include: “Diagnosing the Organization through a Race Equity Lense,” “Get Thing Done: Basics of Project Management,” “Reclaim Your Time: Time Management Training,” and “Effective Meetings: Meeting Management Meeting.” Melissa is a certified Wiley DISC Authorized Partner. Melissa earned her Project Management Certificate from CUNY Baruch, graduated with a joint Masters in Human and Community Development and Urban Planning for Social Justice from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and is a proud alum of  CUNY John Jay College where she studied Deviant Behavior and Social Control and earned a certificate in Dispute Resolution.