Melissa Howell, Chairwoman, President and Co-Founder
Melissa Howell is Chair, President and Co-Founder of Global Elevation. She counts Cornel West, Bill Cosby, Steven Biko and Nelson Mandela among her inspirations for their commitment to education and their communities. Melissa founded Global Elevation through her dedication to promote education as a method to increase cultural understanding/acceptance and individual accountability to the success of the global community. She believes, “our experiences shape and nurture how we see ourselves and it is through this identity that we offer our legacy to the world. Global Elevation challenges each individual to not only contribute to their community but to dream beyond their immediate surroundings to create sustainable solutions that support the needs of people across the globe.”
Prior to launching Global Elevation, Melissa served as Program Director for Platform Learning Inc. She managed a dynamic team to implement and oversee academic after-school programs in several urban school districts throughout New York City. The success of their programs was dedicated to its use of multi-cultural education curriculum relative to communities within those school districts.
Prior to Platform Learning, Melissa worked as a Project Manager for Pfizer Inc. in Madrid, Spain and at their headquarters in New York City. She worked in several different capacities throughout the Supply Chain division including packaging design, systems development and quality compliance. Melissa is also experienced in mergers & acquisitions, internal auditing, operations, and Human Resource compliance at Ford Motor Company where she trained under EU Legislation in Cologne, Germany creating the first guide to the European Union for HR compliance in mergers and acquisitions. She also worked at Ford's Manufacturing Plant in Chihuahua, Mexico coordinating several company-wide events.
Melissa is an active member of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York. She is certified as an entrepreneurship teacher and curriculum designer by the National Foundation of Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and is also involved in community enrichment and youth development programs through a number of local organizations.
Melissa holds a Master’s degree in Migration and Diaspora Studies from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). She also holds her Masters in Business Administration, a BA in Business Administration/Accounting and a BS in Spanish from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University. Melissa plans to pursue a doctorate degree in Education and Cultural Studies.