Melissa Zorzi

This environmental non-profit organization manages a zero-waste community store offering personal care products locally made, with natural ingredients, and free of plastic packaging. The profits from the store finance a plastic upcycling lab and 4 community gardens. I am working to assess and increase the organization’s impact and capacity by increasing sales, developing partnership opportunities, grant seeking, and data collection for decision making with the social value accounting framework.

Progressively responsible roles as Program Manager for national and local government grant funded programs: • Collaborated with the public sponsor and other stakeholders to design a new day center and shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness; led a team of 10 in delivering a customer-centric center that involved 100 habitual clients in its first year of activity, implemented 9 supportive services, established partnerships, managed 300k annual budget. • Coordinated and oversaw teams and projects and developed and implemented program strategies for refugees’ and asylum-seekers’ reception services amounting to 1M annual budget, including building and maintaining relationships and partnerships with community partners and donors, guiding, coaching, and mentoring 2 teams of case managers (24 people), maintaining records and tracking metrics for outcomes and financial reporting, obtaining top rating in government audit, and securing a new grant from local government. • Developed a new employment support program and improved an existing one by widening the network of partners for vocational skills training and job placement. • Scaled and improved processes allowing 6-fold growth of a government contract for emergency reception of asylum-seekers resulting in a 580% increase in program participation and funding. • Worked frontline as case manager, intercultural mediator, and career coach.

Planned process, facilitated work group meetings, gathered metrics, and drafted content for two impact reports. Researched on food waste reduction and food donation and wrote a text for a local publication.

Organised a large scale (200 people) participatory event and a focus group to gather informed citizens views on the research topic. Analysed qualitative data and combined with quantitative data for compiling of the final research report.

Managed two projects financed by EU and UNHCR: a grants scheme for Libyan civil society organizations and a set of actions to improve refugees protection in the country.

Deployed cash grants and cash for work schemes for post-conflict rehabilitation engaging with local communities.

Drafted project charters for projects on capacity building of civilian security authorities in Asian countries. Organized an official meeting (80 participants) with EU Member States representatives and agencies.

Analysed studies and produced recommendations for management of technical cooperation programs for Asian and African countries. Led the production of the first publication on the sector activities.

Assisted in the supervision of 17 projects in 4 countries Supported expatriate staff on procurement procedures compliance.

501 (c) (3) organization Conceived and developed a handbook of policies and procedures for administrative, financial, volunteer and donor contact/recognition activities.

Final dissertation: Analysis of a case of participatory budgeting in an Italian municipality through research on participatory governance techniques and on the theory of deliberative democracy.

CSR strategic planning Strategic corporate philanthropy and Social Impact Measurement Environmental management systems Socially responsible supply chain management Sustainability reporting and communication Sustainable finance and risk management CSR in human resources management