Melissa Pennise has a wide range of experience planning and executing initiatives to improve community health issues for a variety of populations including the health care workforce, older adults, rural residents, maternal and child health, and people with disabilities. She earned her Master’s in Public Health in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Oregon Health & Science University.

As Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives at Common Ground Health, she contributes to regional health planning initiatives to improve health in the Finger Lakes. Her current work supports the Regional Consortium on Health Care Workforce and the Sage II Commission, a planning initiative focused on developing a community-based system of care for the older adult population.

Melissa also serves as an adjunct professor in the State University of New York – College at Brockport’s Department of Public Health and Health Education. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, such as Public Health Reports and Maternal and Child Health Journal.