our TEAM

Melissa Leonard
Senior Director, Communications

Melissa Leonard leads communications for the HAVI and the Kaiser Permanente Center for Gun Violence Research and Education. With more than 20 years serving in the non-profit sector, she is driven by a commitment to fostering equity and has worked in philanthropy, community health, marketing, public relations, and higher education. She previously led marketing and communications teams at non-profits NWEA and AVID Center and prior to that, led an educational attainment and workforce development initiative in Community Health at Kaiser Permanente Northwest. Her passion for promoting equal access to social determinants of health was sparked by years of experience managing health sciences advising at a large urban public university, where she supported diverse students in achieving their dreams of entering the health professions. Melissa holds a Master of Science in Educational Policy, Foundations, and Administration from Portland State University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Lewis & Clark College.