Senior Research Consultant

Melissa Mendes Campos is a Senior Research Consultant with La Piana Consulting. With fifteen years experience in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, Melissa brings a well-developed understanding of organizations to her consulting work as Senior Research Associate. Melissa plays a critical role in our team projects, specializing in research and analysis to help clients make meaning from data, use information to build internal capacity, and enhance their impact in the community. Melissa strengthens consulting engagements involving organizational or market assessments, strategic planning processes, as well as collaborations and strategic restructuring. In the past five years, her work has assisted major national organizations and small community-based groups alike in understanding their strengths, refining their strategies, and effectively adapting to changes in their business environment. 

Melissa also contributes her talents as a researcher, writer, and editor on firm publications, from brief articles to in-depth research initiatives. She participated in developing our 2009 monograph, Convergence: How Five Trends Will Reshape the Social Sector, and authored an article on organizational goal-setting for CausePlanet.org in 2009 that was later reprinted for the California Association of Nonprofits’ CAN Alert bimonthly newsletter for nonprofit managers (January/February 2010 issue).

Prior to joining La Piana Consulting, Melissa served as program assistant and grants manager for the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County. There, she played a vital role in supporting grant programs in the arts, education, environment, community development, health, and human services. Melissa also assisted with community leadership initiatives addressing youth development, neighborhood-building, health care access for the uninsured, and the needs of the LGBTQ community.

Previously, Melissa worked for Life Lab Science Program, a Santa Cruz County nonprofit that has received national recognition for its role in pioneering and promoting garden-based science and language education for children.

Melissa has a Bachelor's degree in Literature from the University of California Santa Cruz, with a focus in medieval studies. She resides in the Santa Cruz Mountains with her husband and pets. Animal welfare, the environment, and hospice care are all causes especially close to her heart.