Experience / Education

In 2021, Melissa stepped into the role of Director of Operations at Brandwein's Bagels, where she became a utility player, doing anything and everything to help this growth start-up keep improving! From working bake, catering and front of house shifts to leading strategic projects, she was happy to jump into any position to make each day go!

Her first major project was helping the business through an expansion and renovation, which tripled the size of the restaurant. This included working with the owner, contractor and vendors to make design decisions, order and set up equipment, effectively coordinate the team through transitions and publish clear customer communications. Over this 1.5 year project, with good organization and planning, Brandwein's was only closed for 5 days, with a successful transition into an new operational format that literally created space for growth.

Following the expansion, Melissa turned her focus to developing the team and culture at Brandwein's. She crafted the company's mission, vision, and values, and integrated them into the hiring process, from job descriptions to interview guides. Melissa also worked with department leaders to implement improved onboarding and training programs. Efforts on these fronts resulted in a more efficient and effective team and improved retention. Melissa eventually helped develop a standardized hiring process, which decreased hiring lead times and improved team composition. Finally, Melissa built out Brandwein's organizational structure by creating the Department Lead position - a middle-management role to develop leaders within the company. By revamping hiring, onboarding and development at Brandwein's, the company now only needs to hire new team members in entry level positions, and grows all senior leaders through the company. The team is now aligned with the company's core values and highly capable of supporting Brandwein's growth goals.

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As part of developing the team and culture at Brandwein's, Melissa also coached leaders and team members, providing feedback and creating structure for others to progress in the company through position descriptions and goal development. She also drafted performance improvement plans and helped manage disciplinary matters, developing company policies and procedures to maintain a healthy and safe work environment in which everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

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Melissa played a key role in other growth projects at Brandwein's, which include new product launches, vendor partnerships, system improvements, and community engagement. She managed the launch of new product lines like microwavable meals, breakfast pastries, and green salads - from menu creation and packaging design to marketing and maintenance. She also led system improvement projects - like implementing an online specific station for busy weekends and adding retail delivery - which increased efficiency and revenue.

To support the success of these growth projects, Melissa also got to dive into branding, marketing and design. In addition to writing internal newsletters, email marketing campaigns and social media captions, Melissa helped design posters, graphics and menus too! She even revamped a few of Brandwein's website pages with a focus on brand and improved SEO.

Melissa Sieffert's time in banking was pivotal in developing her key technical skills in Excel and PowerPoint, enabling her to create effective analyses and impactful presentations. She authored securities documents and investor presentations with CEOs and CFOs, successfully executing debt and equity raises totaling over $1.3 billion.

During her time at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, Melissa Sieffert pursued finance with a focus on healthcare, earning accolades such as the Excellence Award for outstanding academics and recognition as one of Poets and Quants' Best and Brightest. She was honored with the Carolyn and Harold Anderson Fellowship and the Forté Fellowship. Melissa actively contributed to the campus community, serving as a Teaching Assistant across multiple courses and holding leadership roles in student groups like the Association of Minority Business Students. Her dedication and impact extended through various roles, including an internship at the Carolina Angel Network and board consultancies, showcasing her commitment to learning and leadership in business education. Melissa also helped lead her Legacy to 1st and 3rd place Karaoke Competition wins.

Melissa's experience in the Peace Corps as a health sector volunteer in Burkina Faso was marked by dedication and resilience. Although her service was cut short when the Peace Corps evacuated Burkina Faso in 2017 due to security concerns, Melissa made a significant impact during her time there. She worked passionately on health initiatives, focusing on maternal health and child nutrition projects that aimed to improve community well-being. Melissa's commitment to service and her ability to adapt to challenging environments underscored her deep-seated dedication to making a positive difference in global health.

Nutrition & Health Sessions

Health Clinic Renovation

Community Garden

Small Projects

Village Latrines

Before dedicating herself to global health, Melissa Sieffert took one last deep dive into lab work, channeling her passion for neurobiology at the University of Nevada, Reno. Working with Dr. Angermann, she originated a project exploring the potential therapeutic effects of cannabinoids on Parkinson’s disease. Melissa's initiative secured a $4K NSF grant, allowing her to design and execute experiments on cell viability, dosing, and gene expression. Her work culminated in a poster presentation at the EPSCoR conference.

In 2015, Melissa served as as a health volunteer at Seva Mandir, a local non-profit located in Udaipur, India, She took on the responsibility of developing a flipbook for the maternal and child health program. Using IDEO's human-centered design framework, she meticulously researched and designed the flipbook to best serve community health educators and the people they were teaching. Her dedication not only led to the successful completion of the flipbook but also secured the necessary funding for its publication.

Inspiration

Ideation

Implementation

At Harvard University, Melissa pursued a BA in neurobiology with a secondary in English, balancing rigorous academics with diverse extracurricular involvement. She worked in wet labs conducting research, and took center stage behind the scenes as a stage manager for productions like "Little Shop of Horrors," "Rope," "Titus Andronicus," and "You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown." Melissa brought her spirit to the cheerleading squad, competing in Daytona, Florida, during her junior and senior years. Beyond the arts and athletics, Melissa was a dedicated member of the Delta Gamma sorority and contributed to volunteer efforts with Project Sunshine and Harvard College Stories for Orphans. Additionally, Melissa worked at a fashion start-up, Freshionable, founded by a Harvard alumni, and served as a Harvard Summer School proctor in 2014.