Melissa Flores

Melissa is a program and operations specialist with a strong track record of building inclusive partnerships, expanding community-focused programs, and leveraging data to create long-term impact. At Arts for LA, Melissa leads the programmatic direction for the organization’s leadership development programs, ACTIVATE, ensuring local leaders are empowered with the skills, knowledge, and an expanded network to effect change in their communities. She also builds and maintains strong relationships with key partners, cultural organizations, and civic leaders, and spearheads Arts for LA’s annual State of the Arts Summit, which convenes 400+ arts and civic stakeholders each year. Melissa’s experience in the arts and culture sector is diverse – she has been a dancer since the age of three, studied film production at Santa Clara University and expanded her arts administration career through the former Leadership Council of Emerging Arts Leaders, Los Angeles.

Prior to Arts for LA, Melissa worked with the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator where she curated their member experience and brought its community together virtually during the pandemic. Melissa has also worked at The Gabriella Foundation, spearheading various projects including the expansion of their summer camp program to low-resource communities in Los Angeles. Melissa’s experience in the arts and culture sector is diverse – she has been a dancer since the age of three, studied film at Santa Clara University and expanded her arts administration career through the former Leadership Council of Emerging Arts Leaders, Los Angeles (EAL/LA).

In her downtime, Melissa can be found rooting for her favorite sports team (Go Clippers!), ambitiously working on her running pace, exploring different restaurants in Los Angeles or having passioned discussions about various prestige TV.