Melinda Colón is an enthusiastic meeting professional with a track record of exceptional meeting and conference management experience. She is passionate about event planning and uses her extensive knowledge of what makes a great event to develop, coordinate, and execute successful in-person and virtual meetings, workshops, conventions, networking activities and more. She has 20 years of association management experience and a diverse skillset and knowledge base includes governance, membership, award administration, program content, and budget development. Melinda believes that the most effective events are informative, allowing participants to gain knowledge or learn new skills, but should also be engaging, fun, and memorable, so that participants are still talking about it for months or even years afterward.

Before joining Collaborative, Melinda served as Director of Conferences and Events at the Society for Conservation Biology, where she produced conventions all over the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Asia, an event that promoted the science and practice of biodiversity for a global audience of up to 1,500 attendees. At the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, Melinda worked to advance education for health professionals through continuing education programs, conferences, and seminars. At the Society for Neuroscience, Melinda honed her speaker preparation skills and ability to provide customized, top-tier service to VIP speakers.

Melinda has a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of South Carolina and earned a professional certificate in event management from George Washington University. She has been a certified meeting professional (CMP) since 2012, and is committed to professional development, trends, and innovations in the industry. She is an active leader in the Professional Convention Management Association.