For over 30 years, Melanie Schild has been a visionary leader with an innovative spirit who creates and launches high-impact programs for women and girls on international, national, and local levels. Melanie’s mission is to help women of all ages learn their true leadership potential by creating transformative initiatives that bring personal benefit to these groups and increase society’s understanding of the need for more women leaders. She is an expert in driving cultural transformation in complex and diverse organizations and is a true steward of branding and cause marketing.

Before joining The Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) as CEO, Melanie served as CEO of Girl Scouts Heart of the South. In this role, she elevated the organization’s relevance by transforming its culture to one of innovation. Nationally, Melanie spearheaded the Stand Beside Her movement, a call to action initiative to mentor, support, and develop women and girls who collaborate rather than compete. Locally, she extended this initiative by encouraging women and girl-serving nonprofits in the Mid-South to form a collaborative coalition, Stand Beside Her Memphis. She also started leadership programs through Girl Scouts including the Kaleidoscope National Leadership Conference to help young women change the view of leadership through inclusion, equity, and excellence, and WE Lead – Women Elevated to elevate all women through inclusive leadership.

Prior to her time at Girl Scouts, Melanie served as the Executive Director of Kappa Delta Sorority and Kappa Delta Foundation, Inc. for over two decades. She initiated and built a strong national affiliation with Girl Scouts of the USA, created National Women’s Friendship Month, and founded the Confidence Coalition to promote self-confidence in girls and women. Additionally, she created International Care and Kindness Week, International Girls Day, and a variety of programs to help college-aged women with personal development and peer pressure.

Melanie is also active in her community as a volunteer and expert on women’s leadership issues. Her volunteer work began with the Junior of League of Denver (JLD) and continued with the Junior League of Memphis (JLM), where she chaired projects and programs, and was a national trainer for AJLI. Beyond The Junior League, Melanie has served as President of the Association of Fraternity Executives, President of National Panhellenic Conference Executives, and has volunteered with the Women’s Foundation of Greater Memphis, The Arthritis Foundation, Circle of Sisterhood, Volunteer Memphis, Heritage Memphis, Women of Action, and many other local and national organizations. She has received many honors including Memphis Woman Magazine’s Top 50 Women Who Make a Difference and Memphis Business Journal’s Super Women In Business Awards.

Melanie earned a Bachelor of Science in Communications from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Arts in Organizational Communication from the University of Denver.