Melissa Curtin

Community Foundation of Howard County

Melissa Curtin serves as president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Howard County. She grew up in a small town in Colorado, where only one person in her family had gone to college before her. Working three jobs at times, she earned her undergraduate degree and later her master’s degree as well. She has credited earning those degrees, maintaining a strong work ethic and taking advantage of every opportunity that came her way — all three connected — as having led her down paths she could never have imagined.

Throughout her career, Curtin has approached leadership as heart-centered work, focused on seeing the best in people and nurturing and developing them while building and strengthening organizations. She has carried that approach into every professional role she has held, with a consistent goal of leaving people and places better than when she arrived.

Since earning her first coaching certification in 2006, she has provided pro bono coaching and mentoring to individuals across all walks of life, offering a minimum of six-month, 12-session engagements. For seven years, she also made it part of her business model to offer two pro bono six-month coaching opportunities per year for nonprofit and philanthropy professionals. Some of those individuals continue to reach out for coaching and mentoring conversations today.

Curtin holds three coaching certifications in areas including life, leadership and transitions coaching, along with additional certifications that include Standards for Excellence, yoga and hypnotherapy. She has described a love of learning and sharing what she learns.

This is an honoree profile from The Daily Record’s Top 100 Women awards. Information for this profile was sourced from the honoree’s application for the award. The honoree profiles were written using an artificial intelligence program and supported by honoree nominations, applications and letters of recommendation. Each profile was reviewed, fact-checked and edited for accuracy by The Daily Record’s editorial staff.