Dr. Melanie Sue Hicks is a trust researchers, workplace expert, author, TEDx speaker, and corporate trainer. She serves as the Vice President of Programs for the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation, where she leads the design and delivery of high-impact civic and executive leadership programs for professionals across the region.

Beyond her professional work at DMCLF, Dr. Hicks leads InPursuit Research Institute, a workplace think tank focused on culture, burnout, and multigenerational communication and collaboration. Her executive training is shaped by the uncommon combination of deep research expertise and a global human lens. Through more than 120,000 miles of travel across 47 countries and 2,500+ hours of community-based service, she has worked alongside people navigating complexity, scarcity, transition, and resilience in real time. That experience allows her to translate research into leadership practices that are not only evidence-based, but deeply human.

Dr. Hicks holds a Doctorate from the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy at Florida State University, a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Miami, and a Bachelor’s in Organizational Communication from the University of Central Florida.

In addition to her formal degrees, she holds a Business Analytics certificate from Harvard Business School and is a Senior Certified Professional with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM-SCP) and a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) with CFRE International as well as certifications in Inclusive and Ethical Leadership, and Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt from the University of South Florida.