Melissa Carrier is the founder and former Executive Director of the Center for Social Value Creation at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. She joined the Smith School in the 2006 after a decade of leading organizational growth for technology companies.

Before launching the Center for Social Value Creation in 2009, Melissa led venture investment programs at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. During this time, she noticed increasing student interest in working for and creating companies that address social and environmental issues through the tools of business.

Melissa created the Social Venture Consulting program, a platform for students to apply their skills in designing scalable solutions for nonprofit and social enterprise organizations. At the Center for Social Value Creation, Melissa led the Center’s strategic direction across co-curricular programs, curricula, research and career.

In collaboration with the Provost’s office, Melissa led cross-campus initiatives to embed social entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland and served as UMD’s Ashoka U Changemaker Campus Change Leader.

Melissa taught undergraduate and graduate courses in social entrepreneurship and sustainability, receiving the Top 10% teaching award each year. She also served as Assistant Dean for the Office of Global Initiatives.

Melissa currently lives with her husband, three boys and flat-coated retriever in Raleigh, NC. She serves as a strategic consultant to corporations and universities including University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University and is the Director of UNC’s Office of Social Innovation.

Melissa holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from the Ohio State University and an MBA with Honors from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.