With particular expertise in marketing and communications, advancement, and arts leadership, Melissa Fincher has developed deep trusting relationships through years of higher education, non-profit, and academic medicine collaborations. Her varied experiences make her uniquely qualified to support clients in attracting high-caliber leaders for today’s dynamic and demanding higher education environment.
A New Jersey native, she started her career at her alma mater, Rutgers University, as a member of the undergraduate admissions team. She then served Johns Hopkins External Affairs and Development, first as a member of the senior leadership team developing critical institutional partnerships and executing priority projects and then as a human resources consultant with a primary focus on talent acquisition and career pathing.
Immediately prior to joining WittKieffer, Melissa was a talent and organizational development consultant at The Ohio State University. In this role, she developed strategic initiatives to grow, develop, and diversify a workforce of more than 1,000 full-time employees. Melissa led organizational design and assessment efforts including integration strategies for merged organizational models, a comprehensive reclassification and salary study, and workforce planning.
Melissa is a conservatory-trained fine artist, having studied art and architecture in Paris. She has a master’s degree in arts administration with a concentration in community cultural planning and philanthropy.