I am the Media Relations Director for International Relief and Development (IRD), a non-profit humanitarian organization specializing in stabilization and economic development in conflict and post-conflict environments. I joined IRD in September 2009 and am responsible for all press activities, including interviews, articles, and releases. I also oversee staff media training, speech writing, field communications programs, and social media activities.

Prior to IRD, I worked for the U.S. State Department Press Office, focusing on media relations for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In this role, I served as the U.S. Government’s inter-agency press lead for the Burma cyclone response in May 2008, for the U.S. Global Summit on Higher Education in April 2008 and for public-private partnership events following the 2008 earthquake in China’s Sichuan province.

Earlier in my career, I served as Assistant Staff Secretary and Deputy Director of Presidential Writers at The White House, where I was responsible for managing the messages, writing style, grammar and image for Presidential documents and photos. I also served as  Strategic Communications Specialist for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Publications Director and Special Projects Coordinator for the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Assistant Director of Art and Technology and Account Assistant for Ron Sachs Communications in Tallahassee, FL.

I am a native of New Orleans and received my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Communications from Florida State University.  I also hold a Master of Business Administration, with a concentration in Strategic Management, from George Washington University.  I am a co-founder of D.C. Charity Chicks, a non-profit raising funds for women and children in the developing world, and part owner of The Foxtrot Bed & Breakfast in Gatlinburg, TN. I currently live in Arlington, VA.

Contact Information:

email: melissa

twitter: www.twitter.com/nolebelle

facebook: www.facebook.com/nolebelle

linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/melissaprice