Melanie Lopez is health director at World Vision U.S. She has been working and advocating for global public health for over 17 years.

Mélanie Gugelmann is a communications specialist for the communication management unit at Switzerland’s Agency for Development and Cooperation. She manages the subproject social media communication for the IC Forum Switzerland 2022. She speaks five languages and moves confidently between different languages and cultures.

Melanne Verveer is the executive director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. She served as the first U.S. ambassador for global women’s issues, a position to which she was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2009. From 2000-2008, she was the chair and co-CEO of Vital Voices Global Partnership. During the Clinton administration, she served as assistant to the president and chief of staff to the first lady. She is the co-author of "Fast Forward: How Women Can Achieve Power and Purpose".

Melany Rabideau serves as an assistant professor faculty member of the evidence-based global health delivery program at the University of Global Health Equity, located in Rwanda. Melany’s professional background is in health care practice transformation by reversing underperforming operations through process design.

Melinda Gates is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Along with Bill Gates, she shapes and approves the foundation’s strategies, reviews results, and sets the overall direction of the organization. Together, they meet with grantees and partners to further the foundation’s goal of improving equity in the United States and around the world. They make many public appearances to advocate for the foundation’s issues.

As head of communications and chief spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Melissa Fleming leads communications efforts around the globe. Operating in 120 countries, UNHCR provides shelter and help for over 30 million people who have fled wars and persecution.

Melissa Hidrobo is a research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Melissa Julian is communications manager at the European Centre for Development Policy Management, and also represents the European Think Tanks Group made up of ECPDM, German Development Institute, Fundacion para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Dialogo Exterior and Overseas Development Institute. Julian has worked on communications around EU-Africa relations in Brussels for over 24 years.

Melissa Kaplan is a senior manager for policy and government affairs at Women Thrive Worldwide. She brings deep experience within the international development community and previously served as advocacy manager at InterAction, where she managed the InterAction CEO Task Force on Aid Reform and lobbied on issues including foreign assistance and appropriations. She previously held the position of deputy director of government relations at Citizens for Global Solutions

Melissa Leach is the director of the Institute of Development Studies. She co-founded the ESRC STEPS (Social, Technological and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability) Centre, with its pioneering pathways approach to innovation, sustainability, and development issues. She is also an independent member of the Strategic Coherence of ODA-funded Research (SCOR) Board.