EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Melissa Pershing joined The Julian Center as the Executive Director in 2011. A native Hoosier, Melissa has a track record of success as senior executive/CEO and consultant in multiple sectors including business, membership associations, and non-profits. Melissa brought to The Julian Center fifteen years executive-level experience in non-profit organizations and thirteen years experience in corporate/agency public relations and marketing communications. She earned her B.S. in Radio/TV from Butler University, and her J.D. from Georgia State University College of Law. After law school, Melissa served as the Director of Public Service Activities (including volunteer lawyer programs) for the North Carolina Bar Association and as the Executive Director for Legal Aid of North Carolina where more than two-thirds of the cases were domestic violence-related. As Director of Legal Services Alabama, she provided critical leadership in coordinating the disaster legal assistance response after Hurricane Katrina. A member of the Lacy Leadership Association, she was also the recipient of the 2010 Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence Harlene Bartlett Public Service Award. As the Executive Director, Melissa is responsible for the overall management of the agency’s day-to-day operations, fundraising, fiscal health, public relations, collaborations, community partnerships, and interfacing with the Board of Directors.
