Experience

Principal and founder of iMarketingMix LLC, Melissa Farmer Richards, MPA, APR is an author, teacher, consultant, facilitator, and leadership coach. Dubbed The Checklist Guru™, she authors The Weekly Leadership Checklist™. She coaches strategic and developing leaders using her own proprietary Three Fundamentals of Leadership™ curriculum.

Melissa’s 32-year career has spanned corporate industry, technology, small business start-ups, nonprofit, and higher education administration. She held senior positions at start-up software companies and global technology organizations, and later led in such roles as chief of staff and vice president for communications, marketing, and enrollment, serving liberal arts colleges and a large public university. She has founded two small businesses and co-founded two nonprofits.

Melissa earned a Master of Public Administration at Virginia Tech and a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Virginia. She achieved the Accreditation in Public Relations credential and the Association of Governing Boards (AGB) Board Professional Certificate. Having led award-winning creative teams, she was nominated for the American Marketing Association (AMA) Nonprofit Marketer of Year 2022 and named one of 30 Vice Presidents to Follow in 2018 by Leadership in the Digital Age.

A natural public speaker and experienced writer, Melissa has spoken at dozens of national conferences and authored more than a hundred papers and articles. Her first book, The 30-60-90 Day Handbook: Checklists for Communications and Marketing Leaders in Higher Education, is now available from the Council of Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) in February 2025. She has collaborated to organize four major TEDx events–including pitching the event and mentoring dozens of speakers–and led numerous conference planning committees. Throughout her three decades of leading internal teams she developed many small and large professional development events–including a 10-course brand ambassador certificate program–for internal employees.

Melissa served as president for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Central New York Chapter from 2023-24 and assumed the role of chair for the PRSA Northeast District in January 2025. She teaches part-time as an adjunct instructor for Aurora University, and previously at Utica University and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

iMarketingMix LLC is a CASE Educational Partner; a Rising Team Channel Partner; and a CenterState CEO Member. As an entrepreneur, Melissa is a member of The Upside and the CNY Women’s Network. As an adjunct teacher, Melissa is a member of UPCEA, the online and professional education association.