Melissa K Tibbs

Melissa Tibbs is the Director of the Office of Sustainability for Community Action Council, a non-profit organization with a mission to end poverty.

She has lived in Kentucky for almost 11 years, having moved here in 2011 from Baltimore, Maryland, where she lived for ten years after graduating from Bridgewater College (in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia) with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology.

During her time in Baltimore, Melissa earned a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education from Johns Hopkins University. She also studied American Sign Language for about four years, initially intending to become a certified interpreter.

While she was working full-time in Baltimore, Melissa explored her passion for working with children with special needs–specifically Autism Spectrum Disorder– and thus decided to enroll in graduate school.

At Community Action Council, Melissa is responsible for ensuring the agency’s growth and its programs through the acquisitions of grants at the federal, state, and local levels, along with foundation grants and charitable giving. She is also principally responsible for conducting a range of advocacy and development activities that have helped raise awareness of my organization’s mission with community members and elected officials, both locally and in Washington, D.C.

In her time as Director, the agency’s annual grant revenue has increased from $26 million dollars to what it is today, approximately $50 million, which is actually closer to $80 million dollars right now with the federal COVID-19 relief funding that has been available over the last 20 months.

Melissa is a systems thinker, a collaborative colleague, and a leader who effectively builds consensus and authentic relationships. She lives with her husband, Keith, in Nicholasville and hopes to be adding a puppy to their family in 2022.