Melissa E. Simon

I've been in marketing for more than 25 years, working for one of the largest nonprofit Jewish organizations in North America, essentially the Jewish United Way. My role as Chief Creative Officer is to create a visual voice for the community, to show them through visuals who we are, what we do, and how you look when you're part of our community. This encompasses fundraising engagement, community engagement, and programs and services for more than 150,000 community members. Our organization has raised almost $1 billion for Israel for social services including funeral services, health services, kosher meals, vocational services, and services to help people deal with trauma from the war. My day-to-day involves overseeing marketing strategy and creative strategy efforts across all platforms: website, social media, print marketing, and in-event marketing. I also consult to other cultural nonprofits, focusing on cultural fundraising. I call myself culturally insightful because it's all about sociology, anthropology, and psychology mixed together on how communities thrive together and apart. I've recently been in the company of the Greek Prime Minister and the Greek ambassador to the United States, and I sit in on UN briefings during UN weeks. Beyond my nonprofit work, I built a jewelry brand called Mati Jewels over 20 years ago, inspired by the ancient Greek belief in the protective eye. I travel through Greece visiting jewelers from different parts and bring their jewelry back to distribute in the United States, giving them full credit and exposure they couldn't otherwise get.