Melinda has been a devoted member of the Slifka community ever since Yale students tutored her son for his bar mitzvah.  In June 2022, personally grateful for the magic that happens at Slifka, Melinda jumped at the opportunity to work with volunteers and supporters to further Slifka’s mission.

Prior to joining Slifka, Melinda enjoyed a career in alumni relations and advancement at Harvard and Yale.  She has volunteered for small non-profits, focusing on those that help New Haven flourish.  Melinda has degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Harvard Divinity School (Wolfson Fellowship for Judaic Studies, MTS), University of Chicago (PhD program), and the University of New Haven (MBA). Melinda studied for a year at the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem.  She has lived years abroad in India, Pakistan, and Israel and has explored Jewish neighborhoods across the globe, most recently in Cuba and Morocco.

In her free time, Melinda reads widely, hikes Connecticut’s trails, and is close to earning a certificate in the Yale Peabody Museum’s Natural Science Illustration program.  She enjoys spending time with her husband and teenage son, and their mischievous Australian Shepherd.