WELCOME NEW MEMBER: MELISA GILDNER

WELCOME NEW MEMBER: MELISA GILDNER

Melisa Gildner was inducted as a member of Edina Morningside Rotary Club on Tuesday, August 5th, 2025. Melisa Gildner became familiar with Edina Morningside Rotary Club when the doctors from Ukraine visited and spent a week with home hosts EMRC members Mary Brindle, Erica Stern, Doug McElrath, and Liisa and Steve Schmitt. She then attended the New Member Social in May at Wooden Hill Brewing. She lives a life of service to others. We are thrilled to introduce her to you.

Mary Brindle is Melisa's sponsor.

For information about Rotary membership, contact Nate Park or Peter Williams.

Melisa's passion for international relations and multilateral cooperation spans the course of several decades. Her career began at International Rescue Committee resettling refugees, followed by development work in domestic hunger alleviation at Feeding America, she served as the Director of Government and NGO Relations for Project C.U.R.E. in Washington, D.C. In partnership with International Ambassadors, U.S. Diplomats, Embassy staff and Ministries of Health, oversaw the full life cycle of projects from ideation to implementation of the provision of medical supplies and equipment around the globe. Melisa conducted needs assessments in prison facilities in Tanzania, Zanzibar, and Kyrgyz Republic, and in hospitals in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Uzbekistan. She has partnered with many NGOs, SOUTHCOM, NIH, CDC, and USAID on multiple projects.

Her fundraising efforts have led to more than $20M in funds to support some of the most vulnerable populations both domestically and internationally. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Sustainable Development with a focus on Nonprofit Management. She is the recipient of Northern Colorado Superwoman and Colorado Woman of Vision awards.