Melissa Q. Viola

Director of Communications, Gary Community Investments & The Piton Foundation

Denver

Melissa Q. Viola is the director of communications at Gary Community Investments and The Piton Foundation, where she oversees public relations, internal and external communications, marketing and brand management. In addition, she manages Piton’s efforts to educate low-income Colorado families about resources that help build financial security, including the Tax Credits for Working Families Public Information Campaign, and she leads marketing and communications for Shift Research Lab, a long-standing program of The Piton Foundation that helps social change organizations leverage data and research more easily and effectively in their work.

Before joining Gary Community Investments, Melissa was the manager of outreach and alumni relations at the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation, where she oversaw marketing, communications and alumni engagement for the organization. She also has experience working in public and corporate relations for the American Red Cross Blood Services, helping to increase public awareness about the need for blood in Massachusetts through media campaigns and promotional partnerships with brands like Dunkin’ Donuts, the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots.

Melissa spent the first five years of her career working in the publishing industry in Southern California, serving as senior editor of Riviera, a monthly lifestyle magazine published by Modern Luxury. She received a bachelor’s degree in English from UCLA.

Melissa resides in the Sloan’s Lake neighborhood with her husband, young daughter and French bulldog, Chowder.