Melissa Herrera

As a first-generation college graduate, Melissa is committed to supporting learners in preparation for their careers. Prior to joining Merit America, Melissa served as the Career Coach for the Career Experience Opportunities (CEO) program – a pilot career readiness project which serves students who are mostly first-gen and underrepresented in higher education in Montgomery County, MD through workshops and one-on-one career coaching. She was part of an authorship team that developed a strategic plan which expanded the pilot program she manages to increase its impact from 100 students to over 2,500 annually and has recently become a leader in the development of a campus and county-wide career readiness competency framework for students.

Recently, Melissa earned her Master of Professional Studies in Industrial Organizational Psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park where she previously earned a bachelor’s degree in Community Health and minors in Global Poverty and U.S. Latino/a Studies.