Melissa Fenton

Executive Director
Melissa has over 25 years of experience in the not-for-profit and corporate sectors, with expertise in fundraising, finance and operations, strategic planning, communications, real-estate, and event planning. Melissa has dedicated her career to helping underserved communities and creating sustainable business models for long-term organizational success.
Melissa has worked with senior leadership and boards of Fortune 500’s, not-for-profits and public, private, and charter schools. During her career she has held various senior executive leadership roles, including Executive Director of City Lights Youth Theatre, Chief Development & Communications Officer at Bronx Prep Charter School and Director of Individual Giving at New-York Historical Society.
She served as Principal Strategy Consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers assisting Fortune 500 companies with strategy, financial forecasting, and branding. As part of a select critical team, she executed the merger between PW and Coopers & Lybrand. She trained hundreds of MBA interns in writing and presentation skills, led on-campus recruitment efforts, and was an active leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion programming for the firm. Melissa’s civic duty began as a paralegal in the Major Economic Crimes Bureau of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, conducting fraud and racketeering investigations and second-seating trials.
Melissa leads the business development relationships and with over 100 corporate partners, executing high-caliber thought-leadership power forums and summits in finance, law, media & entertainment, tech and sports. She has grown the CUP community to over 18,000 in NY and LA and spearheaded a new annual three-day Summit in Martha’s Vineyard focused on thought leadership in investment management and entrepreneurship. She co-leads the CUP NY Fellows Program and works with the CUP NY Alumni Fellows Leadership Committee on Alumni Convenings and the Fellowship selection process.
Melissa is a singer and hails from New York City.

Education:

  • Williams College, BA in English, with a concentration in Psychology
  • University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, MBA, Strategy and Organizational Behavior.
  • Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business, 2022 Leadership Certificate, “New Strategies Symposium – Business for Impact”

Board Service:

Williams College, Williamstown, MA:
  • Served a three-year term on the Executive Committee with College President Adam Falk
  • Served a three-year term on the Board of Governors as a Vice Chair
  • Co-chaired the 20th and 25th class reunions
  • Served a five-year term as Class President
  • Serves as a major gifts and annual fund alumni fundraiser
Bronx Preparatory Charter School, Bronx, NY:
  • Secretary of the Board of Bronx Preparatory Charter School.

Sample Speaking Engagements:

CUP Conversation: Vicky Nguyen, NBC News Anchor and Correspondent, Author NY Times Bestseller, “Boat Baby: A Memoir” – May 14th, 2025 – Moderator
CUP’s 7th Annual Pipeline to Power Summit – Fireside Chat – Tiffany Dufu, President, Tory Burch Foundation – March 12th, 2025 – Moderator
Citibank, Driving Engagement and Inspiration Managing Director Summit, February 4th, 2025 – Panelist
National Urban League, Martha’s Vineyard, Oak Bluffs, Civic Engagement Panel // “Economic Inclusion Is An American Imperative: Business Speaks”, 2024 – Panelist
ParentMatterz, Martha’s Vineyard, Oak Bluffs, Power Panel // “Youth Leadership & Empowerment: Pathways to Opportunity”, 2024 – Moderator
Smart City Expo USA, NY, NY, 2024 – Fireside Chat with, CEO Wole Coaxum – Moderator
Central Park Conservancy, Business Leadership Council Summit, NY, NY, 2024 – Featured Presenter – Board Governance
Baron Davis Enterprises, BIG, Women in Power Leadership, Martha’s Vineyard, Oak Bluffs, 2022 – Panelist
“ParentMatterz” Youth Empowerment & Opportunity Expo, Martha’s Vineyard, 2024 – Panel Moderator
Kairos Summit, “Convening for the Culture”, Martha’s Vineyard, Oak Bluffs, 2022 – Panelist

Awards:

2025 Power 100 Advocates Award: The Advocates have long supported the careers of all professionals and made the case for improved access for all firms.
2024 Marquis Who’s Who in America Award: Executive leader with noteworthy achievements that have proven to be of significant value to society.
2022 “Pillar Leadership Award” recipient, bestowed by the National Black MBA Association for her leadership and dedication in providing access and resources to black professionals making a social-economic impact to diverse communities.
Phat Friends Award recipient, bestowed by the All Stars Project for her extraordinary work in youth development.

 

Contact Melissa Fenton at mfenton@cupusa.org.