► Born in Chubut (Patagonia Argentina), She is an entrepreneur specialized in Education,  Technology, and Diversity issues with a systemic and inclusive approach (Ashoka fellow and Bunge and Born Foundation fellow). Melina is also a Consultant, Graduate and graduate-level Professor, national and international Speaker, Art, and education lecturer, Advisory board member, and Jury of national and international awards and competitions. Her qualifications include National Classical Dance Teacher; Bachelor of Science in Education (University of Buenos Aires, Summa Cum Laude), Master and Specialist in Educational Technology (University of Buenos Aires, Cum Laude).

Melina has written more than 1000 academic and popular publications with a national and international scope. At present,  she is a columnist on technology, art, and education issues for La Nación Newspaper and collaborates with different media such as MiT Technology Review, and the Interamerican Development Bank´s blog.

She specializes in creativity, training, youth empowerment, and diversity. In the field of research, she has worked for national and regional studies for public and private organizations such as the Ministry of National Education, UNICEF, IIPE Unesco, Equals, among others.

Throughout her career, She has received numerous awards. In 2018, Ashoka International Foundation selected her as an Ashoka Fellow for her work as a social entrepreneur promoting systemic change and collaborative leadership. That same year she was recognized by the international UPWARD network for her commitment and work with Gender Equity.

In 2020, she won the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from EY Argentina in the social category, and also, due to her leadership and impact during the COVID-19 pandemic context, she has been distinguished as one of the five people in the world (and the only one in the region) to receive the Beiersdorf AG Changemakers United Award. She is also recognized as a role model and inspiration in different campaigns such as Risers (Motorola), Optimy 6 Inspiring Latin American Women who are making an impact on the world.

In her quest for continuous learning and improvement, she has been awarded a scholarship from the State Department of the United States Government to carry out the Global Competitiveness Leadership Program at Georgetown University and also the International Visitor Leadership Program with a focus on Education and Technology. In 2018, she was the only person from the region to receive a scholarship for the intensive program for entrepreneurs with social impact in the Middle East (Israel) of the Schusterman Foundation.

For more than 15 years she has been devoted to creating solutions and educational opportunities with technology in an integral way, such as generating the first education program for the Wikimedia Foundation. She has experience in the design, development, research, and evaluation of innovation projects and programs that articulate education and technology with a regional focus in public, private, and international organizations. As well as participating in various international networks and communities as alumni, fellow or active member.

Because of her training and experience in Art, Melina was a founder and member of the interdisciplinary group of digital art A.Mo.Ver, which carried out projects involving technology with the Medialab of EAFIT (Colombia) and schools in Argentina, such as the body as an interface and experiences of learning through expressive movement with adolescents from vulnerable areas. Nowadays She remains in contact with these projects and initiatives trying to create more impact on education through technology and art (Museum of Modern Art).

Furthermore, She co-founded the non-profit organization Chicas en Tecnología, with the aim of reducing the gender gap in the technological entrepreneurial environment at a regional level. From 2017 to 2021, she led this non-profit organization as the first Executive Director with the central strategy of guaranteeing the innovation of the organization and its sustainability, expanding the territorial scope (national and regional), and coordinating alliances with different sectors. In 2019, Georgetown University (USA) recognized the exponential growth and impact of this NGO with the 2019 Global Competitiveness Leadership Award [Annual Report]. As a result of the implementation of this strategic plan during those years, the NGO achieved financial sustainability through the generation of diversification of funds, such as increasing the sponsorship from international companies, the national and local public sector, individual donations, and international funds. During the pandemic, and because of this strategy and the continuous  innovation, the NGO could not only maintain but also increase revenues and impact. At the same time, Chicas en Tecnología as NGO received the international award from Nature Research (+ info).

Due to her experience in leadership, she is a mentor of the Vital Voices Foundation, where she accompanies the development and empowerment of women leaders. In addition, she has been chosen from 4,000 applicants with more than 10 years in decision-making positions, to carry out the prestigious program of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE UK): W50 The Next Generation of Leading Women, where she has trained with 50 other women from all around the world in transformational leadership with a gender perspective and cultural diversity. With this journey, she created the ¨Professional Re/invention Clinics¨to accompany the redesign of professional experiences.

After succeeding as an entrepreneur with a social impact, Melina decided to return to the private sector, where her professional career had begun, and lead the first global management of the Learning and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Area of a Technology Company called Globant. She focused on how to create equality and equity of opportunities with an outreach of more than 27.000 people in 30 countries worldwide, connecting her purpose with the industry and the ecosystem. Furthermore, she broadened the learning upskilling and reskilling possibilities with a focus on diversity, which included pillars such as multiculturalism, disabilities, neurodiversity, gender, sexuality, and generational diversity. For all these impacts, the company was recognized on the list of the Valuable 500 for diversity work and a Gold Medal at the Brandon Hall Global, for training programs.

Currently, having generated high-impact programs in the private sector, she has gone back to the entrepreneurial field and seeks to connect the region with the world with new initiatives such as Enki. With this objective in mind, She also promotes and participates in cross-sectoral dialogue spaces and at decision-making levels for social investment, focusing on education, with a diverse and innovative perspective.

More information: Linkedln