Melissa Ferguson is a marketing and communications professional with more than 20 years experience working in academia, health care, voluntary health organizations, arts, museums and nonprofits. As communications specialist for the Mershon Center, Melissa develops and executes strategic marketing and communications plans and initiatives that support the center's mission and the goal of advancing substantive scholarly, public, and policy conversations on vital security issues. Melissa also co-leads the planning and execution of major events and special projects, such as conferences, summer institutes, and national security simulations.