Melissa Daar Carvajal Joins the Schott Foundation as Communications Director
New York, NY – The Schott Foundation for Public Education is pleased to announce that Melissa Daar Carvajal has joined our team as Communications Director.
“We are very pleased to welcome Melissa, who brings valuable communications expertise and both philanthropic and advocacy experience to our team,” said Schott President and CEO John H. Jackson. “Communications plays such a critical role in elevating the voices of our grassroots partners as well as shaping and promoting the narratives that build the public will needed to address systemic racism and yield substantive, systemic changes to provide all children an opportunity to learn and thrive.”
Melissa’s education justice advocacy is grounded in her local experience. As a proud Mission High School mom and teacher's wife, Melissa has collaborated with her school communities to promote racial and education justice, helping to secure new state and local legislation to safeguard resources for public education students. In her leadership role, she advocates for cross-racial cooperation, bringing multi-lingual and multi-racial school communities together to support students and families.
As the founder of MDC Network, Melissa and her creative collaborators have assisted many organizations, such as The Early Learning Lab, Oakland Literacy Coalition, SF Bay Area Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and the Packard and Thrive Foundations. Their work includes one of the first campaigns to flip the frame about "bad behavior" and bring awareness and treatment for children with toxic stress and trauma. The campaign brought thousands of moms, caregivers and pediatricians into the Center for Youth Wellness's networks.
In her recent work with Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Melissa led the communications strategy for the foundation's most successful census campaign. She also spearheaded a multi-foundation-supported training, "Asset-Framing in A Time of Crisis," exploring the power of narrative frames to support racial justice.
Earlier in her career, Melissa held senior positions at the Stuart Foundation, Fenton Communications and Full Court Press. She founded PlazaCuba, a company for musicians and dancers to study in Cuba.
Melissa has a Bachelor of Arts from Clark University.