Melissa Schigoda

Melissa is the CEO and Founder of Melissa Schigoda LLC, a public impact consulting firm. She has over 20 years of experience in local government, higher education, and nonprofits, specializing in performance management, analytics, and evaluation. Prior to her current role, Melissa served as a Director at the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University. She led the organization's efforts on the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ City Data Alliance, an initiative to help mayors and their senior teams from cities across the Americas to develop data strategies, accelerate their data practice, and deliver exceptional results for residents. Before that, Melissa served as the Director of the Office of Performance and Accountability in the City of New Orleans, where she led performance management, analytics, and other data-driven projects to drive evidence-based decision-making across City departments. She also coordinated the City’s Data Governance Committee, the creation of the City’s Data Policy, and the City’s What Works Cities certification, the standard for data-driven, well-managed local governance. Melissa has been recognized as a Results for America Local Government Fellow and an Emerging Leader by the American Political Science Association’s Center for Accountability and Performance. She also serves as Tulane’s International City/County Management Association Student Chapters Professional Advisor. She holds a B.A. in Political Science and a Ph.D. in International Development from Tulane University.