After years in private industry and ownership over two businesses in San Diego County, Mely began working in the University of California system in 1998 at the UCSD School of Medicine campus managing program accreditation compliance with the American Medical Association in the Office of Continuing Medical Education. In addition, she programmed and managed numerous credit-bearing medical academic programs and worked with physicians to originate new program offerings. In 2002, her innovative multi-cultural, academic program was awarded recognition by then UCSD Chancellor Robert C. Dynes and OCME Dean Terence M. Davidson. In January 2003, Mely transferred to UC Riverside to take over the Summer Academy for Advanced High School Students at the Summer Sessions & Special Programs office and quickly grew it to record enrollment. By 2005, she exercised her degree in Marketing by taking full control over the department’s Marketing Strategic Plan (some may still remember the ‘Summer Sunflower’ heralding the summer quarter). During her thirteen years in Summer Sessions, Mely originated and managed numerous special programs: STEP (Summer Transfer Edge Program for incoming freshmen), Summer Study Abroad (a UCR faculty-led, summer study program, known today as FLEAP), SMART Residential Program (for talented high school students), and Frontiers in Nanotechnology (a program collaboration with BCOE for high school students). In 2006, she became the Assistant Director of Summer Sessions & Special Programs and was awarded the Western Association of Summer Sessions Administrators ‘Best Catalog Cover’ in 2009 and ‘Best Overall Marketing Plan’ in 2014 and was a UC Riverside Tartan Soul Award Finalist in 2015. That same year, she became the first hire in the inaugural International Affairs office by its founding Vice Provost and has continued working in support of internationalization on the UC Riverside campus.

With nearly 25 years in the University of California system, Mely is looking forward to retirement. She plans to spend most of the year in Florida with her husband, Daniel, and looks forward to putting some miles on their RV and doing some traveling abroad, but she also plans to return to the Southern California area often to spend time with her sons, Tristan and Landon, as well as with family and friends.

Monday, June 5, 2023, at 3:00 – 5:00pm
Alumni & Visitor Center | University of California, Riverside Campus 3637 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92507