Melissa Majors
Melissa is a leading advisor, coach, and advocate for human-centered leadership. Her expertise is curated from over twenty-five years of leading thriving teams across a variety of industries, including investments, insurance, ed-tech, associations, and business consulting.
Melissa Majors has spent more than 25 years optimizing the business impact of human-centered leadership. She has been a force of change throughout her professional career. She has served as the Director of Global Education at Meeting Professionals International (MPI), where she used human-centered executive leadership to drive global education strategies and develop excellence in teams. As the Director of Global Education Services and Partner Enablement at Ellucian, she reinvented the educational division to effectively serve 500k+ clients and strategic partners.
Keynote Speaker and Workshop Facilitator
Melissa Majors is a captivating storyteller who brilliantly delivers human-friendly talks that spark inspiration, insight, smiles, and action that empower all to return to work with great wisdom to implement. What to expect from Melissa onstage? An endearing and authentic experience filled with mesmerizing stories, audience interaction, thoughtful research, and an enthralled audience who will buzz about her session long after the event has concluded. She has been on the keynote stage at events for Google, Meeting Professionals International's WEC, Matthews Asia, Orthofix, National Association of Realtors, Lantheus, Women’s Food Service Forum, Purdue Pharma, Blue Shield of CA, State Street, Institute for Internal Auditors, Financial & Insurance Conference Professionals and many more.
Author
Melissa is the author of Help Them Thrive and The 7 Simple Habits of Inclusive Leaders. Her books uncomplicate the complexities of leadership through relatable stories, relevant data, and actionable tactics.
Consultant and Coach
Her firm, Melissa Majors Consulting, has extensive experience and a proven reputation for driving better business outcomes through her human-centered leadership initiatives and innovative and inclusive strategic planning. She brings deep expertise in boosting team and organizational performance across various industries and sectors. She is the creator of in’klooded®, an inclusive strategic planning method that facilitates critical thinking and better decisions. She has dedicated her career to helping teams and individuals become even better.
Media
Melissa has been featured in publications such as Forbes Magazine, Smart Meetings, The Meeting Professional, PCMA’s Convene, NorthStar Meetings Group's Eventful Podcast, and The Event DR.
Education and Personal
Melissa has a Bachelor of Business Administration and studied strategy and innovation at Harvard University. Melissa lives in the DFW area with her husband and two young sons. She loves the outdoors, including freshwater fishing and camping.
HELP THEM THRIVE®: LEAD WITH HUMANITY AND CULTIVATE THE BEST IN YOURSELF AND OTHERS
No leader sets out to create a toxic work environment. Yet, many teams still find themselves stuck in cultures that drain energy, kill engagement, and stifle performance. Global workplace studies make it clear that leaders' biggest problems today are disengagement and declining employee well-being. The solution? Leadership that rehumanizes the workplace.
The good news is that you can fix this. High-performing leaders create thriving cultures by stripping away complexity, embracing humanity, and fostering genuine connections. They make the workplace a place where people want to be—not just a place they have to be.
In this engaging, story-driven session, Melissa Majors unpacks the research, shares real-world examples, and delivers practical strategies to help you eliminate "unintentional toxicity" and build high-performing, happy teams. Her approach is backed by neuroscience, research, and common sense, offering simple yet profound shifts you can implement immediately.
HELP HER THRIVE: LEADERSHIP STRATEGIES FOR WOMEN’S SUCCESS
Great leaders don’t hoard power—they share it. They create environments where everyone can grow, contribute, and thrive. But let’s be realistic: women in the workplace often face unique challenges that make success harder than it should be. Covert competition, microaggressions, lack of sponsorship, the tightrope between authenticity and assimilation, increased scrutiny—you name it.
In this engaging, story-driven session, Melissa Majors unpacks the research, shares real-world scenarios, and delivers practical leadership strategies that help eliminate barriers to women’s success. Whether you're a manager, an aspiring leader, or a supportive colleague, this session will equip you with the tools to lead with integrity and impact.
HELP THEM THRIVE®: THE 7 ESSENTIAL TRAITS OF FAIR TEAMS
Fair leaders don’t just hope for fairness in their teams—they build it into everything they do. But what does that actually look like? What specific actions set fair leaders and teams apart?
In this powerful and practical session, leadership expert Melissa Majors reveals a simple truth: the best leaders don’t leave fairness to chance. Their tactics are simple yet profoundly impact their team’s performance, collaboration, and mindset, creating workplaces where people want to stay and do their best.
BUSY BOSSES: LEADERSHIP LESSONS FOR LEADERS WHO DON’T HAVE TIME FOR LEADERSHIP LESSONS
You want to be a better leader. Of course you do. But let’s be honest—who has time for leadership training? Not you. You’re too busy actually leading.
Here’s the problem: your team’s success (and your sanity) depends on your ability to evolve as a leader. But if you don’t have time to learn new leadership skills, how are you supposed to keep up?
That’s where Busy Bosses comes in. This fast, engaging, and actually useful session is designed for high-performing leaders who need practical strategies—but don’t have hours to spare.
Melissa Majors, CEO of Melissa Majors Consulting, distills the latest leadership trends into simple, actionable takeaways you can use immediately. No fluff, no wasted time—just the tools you need to lead with confidence in today’s fast-moving world.
THRIVING CONNECTIONS: MEANINGFUL NETWORKING AND BETTER RELATIONSHIPS
Let’s be honest—our "peopling" skills are a little rusty. After years of Zoom calls and sweatpants, the idea of walking into a room full of strangers and networking might sound about as appealing as a dentist appointment. We default to small talk, stick with the people we already know, and collect business cards we’ll never look at again.
But what if networking could actually be fun, natural, and, dare we say… effective?
MESMERIZE: PRESENT TO CAPTIVATE & INSPIRE
Let’s face it—most presentations are forgettable. People zone out, check their phones, and politely nod while secretly thinking about lunch. But what if your presentations could actually mesmerize your audience and persuade them to act on your guidance?
It’s entirely possible: thanks to advances in neuroscience, we now know what makes people pay attention, retain information, and actually remember what you said.
In this highly engaging, interactive session, Melissa Majors unpacks the science and art of delivering mesmerizing presentations—ones that work with the brain, not against it. You’ll walk away with practical, research-backed techniques that keep audiences engaged, make your message stick, and turn every presentation into a memorable experience.
Looking at inclusive leadership through the lens of empathy is what makes Melissa’s training so effective. The Seven Simple Habits of Inclusive Leaders provides tools for identifying blind spots and provides a framework for intentionally creating a welcoming environment that builds collaboration and sparks innovation. Simply put, Melissa is outstanding.
President, Visit Loudoun
WONDERFUL PRESENTATION!!! Melissa I am so glad I was able to experience your presentation and get a first hand understanding on why you are SO in demand! So well done! I was blown away and so were many of my cohort members. You are getting RAVE reviews on the Zoom chat and in our Cohort Slack channel and I am absolutely beside myself. Thank you for sharing with us today, and also for your guidance throughout the program...it has been life changing.
Event Planner, Johns Hopkins University
Over my many years in association management, few speakers have made as big an impact on audiences as Melissa Majors. Texas Nursery & Landscape Association (TNLA) had Melissa speak twice in 3 months. The TNLA Board of Directors engaged her regarding a diversity message that could be carried forward to the membership. Because of the overwhelming strength of her message and delivery, the Board participated in, understood, and celebrated her message of inclusiveness. The messages resonated beyond their roles as Board members but also as small business owners and their relationships. Of course, we had her back!! Two months later, she keynoted a session at our Hort Forum. We continue to get feedback that her essential message was heard and will change how some look at their world forever.
President/CEO, Texas Nursery & Landscape Association
Melissa offers a refreshing perspective on inclusiveness. Her stories and examples really hit home with our board and members. Too often we try to tackle the issue of DEI in a very intimidating way, Melissa makes it much more approachable.
President, Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association
Melissa Majors's inclusive leadership sessions are some of the best in the industry. Her warmth and honesty create a welcoming environment where leaders can learn, examine and grow in a judgment-free environment. Her sessions were eye-opening, and thought-provoking and provided leaders with practical tips and strategies on how they can build an inclusive culture today.
Board Member and Chair of the Compensation Committee, Salsify
Everyone is raving about Melissa's presentation!!!!! She is walking in her truth, skill, and talents!!! We are already talking about making sure we use her for some programs in the next year.
Events Content Director, EnsembleIQ
Melissa Majors is a dynamic speaker, coach and consultant who specializes in inclusive leadership and empowerment! Her powerful presentation skills will leave learners on the edge of their seats! I was blessed to hear Melissa speak for the very first time at the HR Southwest conference. The actionable take-a-ways that she shares in her 7 Simple Habits of Inclusive Leaders resonates well with her audience. The resources that she’s shared have already empowered me, and the teams I lead to be more inclusive leaders. Investing in Melissa as a guest speaker or consultant for your organization will undoubtably reap dividends.
Senior Manager, Human Resources, 7-Eleven
It was such a delight to meet you Melissa – you officially have earned the status of BEST RCE LEADERSHIP LUNCHEON SPEAKER EVER! Seriously, your message was very timely as you can tell by the number of AEs that spoke to you following the luncheon.
Manager, Professional Development | Engagement, National Association of Realtors®
Grateful! As for the MB, I just got off a zoom call with Stephanie and we were both singing your praises. She mentioned that she is grateful for the support I have given to our DEIB efforts and the reception this has all received from our leadership team – very much mirroring the comments you shared below. It’s great to hear from both of you that we are on the right path and to know that our leaders believe that we’ll need continued focus/investment in order to get the results we seek.
CEO, MindBody
Help them Thrive
The 7 Simple Habits of Inclusive Leaders
