Melissa Chappell

Melissa Chappell serves as Senior Director, Development & Communications at the Institute for Sustainable Communities, managing corporate, foundation, and government philanthropic partnerships. Melissa has nearly 20 years of nonprofit experience and has raised funds over her career to support community development, workforce development, environmental justice, and equity and inclusion. She began fundraising as a community organizer-turned-grant writer in Boston, Massachusetts. She worked alongside residents to transform a vacant lot into what is now Elmhurst Street Playground. Most recently, she served as Executive Director of the Durham Technical Community College Foundation in the thriving Research Triangle region, an area she still calls home. With college and community leadership, Melissa and the institutional advancement team led the college’s first major gifts campaign in more than 20 years. Melissa holds a master’s degree in social work from East Carolina University and a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from North Carolina State University.Senior Director, Development & Communications