Melissa Harris

Melissa Harris makes her clients unforgettable. As CEO and founder of marketing firm M. Harris & Co., she’s grown the company to nearly $4.5 million in annual revenue. The firm specializes in science communications — climate, public health and advanced technology — and helps clients like the American Academy of Pediatrics, Purdue University and Rolls-Royce explain science and their technology to the public.

Melissa serves as adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, where she teaches a course called Building a New Venture.

Her book, Everybody Needs an Editor, was published by Simon & Schuster. Co-written with Jenn Bane, the book was named one of the Top 40 business books and Top 5 marketing/communications books of 2024 by the Porchlight Book Company; it was also long-listed for a Non-Obvious Book Award.

Alongside Pulitzer Prize winning writer Mary Schmich, Melissa founded the media company Mary & Melissa Productions and produced a seven-part podcast series called Division Street Revisited, which you can listen to on all major podcast platforms.

She thrives at warp speed. That's because she launched her career as a journalist, capping 15 years in media as a business columnist for the Chicago Tribune.

After leaving journalism, she earned an MBA at the University of Chicago. And while working at a private equity firm as vice president of marketing, she helped raise more than $70 million and launched its online investing platform. Melissa serves as a governing board member for The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.