Faculty

Melissa Rancourt is an international educator, executive trainer, and facilitator with more than 30 years of experience helping organizations strengthen their leadership, build cohesive cultures, and design strategies that create meaningful and lasting impact. An engineer by training and a global educator by vocation, she blends strategic design, behavioral insight, creativity, and systems thinking to help teams work better together, navigate uncertainty, and unlock new possibilities.

Within universities, Melissa has designed and taught more than 100 university and executive‐level courses, created two master’s degrees, and led the Parsons Global Executive Master’s in Strategic Design for Global Leadership degree — recognized by students and faculty as one of the most transformative learning in their career. She is also the Founder and Board President of greenlight for girls, a global non‐profit that has reached more than 75,000 girls through 490 hands‐on STEM events worldwide, and the Business Owner & Chief Wellbeing Officer of Serendip Spa & Wellbeing, an award‐winning wellness company in Brussels.

Melissa specializes in team alignment, leadership development, culture transformation, strategic design, communication, creativity, and experiential learning. She is known for designing immersive workshops that help teams collaborate more effectively, build trust, and translate strategy into action. Her methods integrate design thinking, systems mapping, embodied learning, and her signature walking facilitation approach that helps leaders think more clearly and teams connect more deeply.

Recognized among the Top 100 Women in Social Enterprise and Women Who Advance Associations, Melissa brings a rare combination of academic rigor, entrepreneurial energy, and human‐centered leadership. Whether she is training executives, facilitating cross‐functional teams, or speaking on the global stage, she is known for her ability to inspire, energize, and create the conditions for people and organizations to thrive.

MBA in Entrepreneurship, Babson College

Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology

Author:

“Cinema and neuromarketing: how to make your film irresistible (and profitable)”, co-author with Patrick Georges, Neurosurgeon.

“Choosing an Automated Dispensing Machine”, co-author Dr. Bruce Wong, American Journal of Health Systems Pharmacy:  Volume 56.  Translated in French (Canada).

“Enhancing Pharmacy Clinical Services Through the Use of an Automated Drug Dispensing System”, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts:  Vol 34.

Neuromarketing:  Sell to the Brain, book in process with author & Professor Patrick M. Georges.

“Optical Disk Technology in a Medical Environment”, The Boston Computer Society Journal.

“Preparing for Year 2000 – STAT”, Health Management Technology, (cover story/photo on cover magazine).

Surface Mount Technology Quality Standards book, 200 pages.  Digital Equipment Corporation.

“Waiting for Toast”, short story, Solas Travelers Tales Award – Gold Prize.

Published Works where I am mentioned:

Subject of book (Chapter 5, Echo Sets Fires, pages 178-190), Echo Designs her Way out of a Paper Bag, written by Jack Roberts.

Forward for Sustainable Growth and Profits, book written by Magnus Penker.

Subject of book (Chapter 6, The New Domain of Leadership, pages 110-112), Conscious Leadership in Action, written by Floyd Carlson.

Podcast, “What is Service Design”, www.whyservicedesignthinking.com, created by Marina Terteryan.

The Economist, “Why Design Thinking is on the Lips of so many Business Leaders”.

Climate Action Superheroes empower children to protect the planet | | UN News

Recent Press: 

The Problem Solvers, Babson College:  The Problem Solvers · Babson Magazine

EN reveals the Top 100 Women in Social Enterprise List: entrepreneurs, innovators and sector leaders - Euclid Network, Award Recognition,  EN reveals the Top 100 Women in Social Enterprise List: entrepreneurs, innovators and sector leaders - Euclid Network

CDK Global Strengthens Commitment to Philanthropic Partnerships to Support Inclusive and Equitable, Quality Education and Lifelong Learning | Business Wire, Quoted, CDK Global Strengthens Commitment to Philanthropic Partnerships to Support Inclusive and Equitable, Quality Education and Lifelong Learning | Business Wire

‘Alles is mogelijk’; g4g Day moet meisjes bewegen exacte vakken te kiezen (bbvms.com), TV Interview, ‘Alles is mogelijk’; g4g Day moet meisjes bewegen exacte vakken te kiezen (bbvms.com)

Global initiative focused on empowering women in STEM hosts first Middle East event in Dubai | Art & Culture | ITP.net, Quoted, Global initiative focused on empowering women in STEM hosts first Middle East event in Dubai - ITP.net

Greenlight for Girls: Finding the STEM Leaders of the Future - Linux.com, Greenlight for Girls: Finding the STEM Leaders of the Future - Linux.com