Term Expires: 12/31/2025

“I am excited to join the State Board because I truly believe there are many ways to achieve success. As an employer, I am passionate about finding people who bring unique skills and strengths to the workplace, whether they attended community college, an occupational school, or learned skills through life experiences. It’s my personal mission to expand opportunity and build connections among businesses and community colleges so we can develop talent together.”

Biography

Melanie Kruger is the Senior Vice President of Talent at Red Canary, Inc. In this role, she leads the Talent team that oversees hiring, human resources, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, ensuring Red Canary remains a premiere destination for top talent.

With over two decades of experience in the tech startup space, Melanie is widely regarded as a go-to leader in talent and organization development. She has advised groups as diverse as early-stage bootstrapping organizations to respected, highly valued companies that go public. Melanie has mentored company founders and counseled up-and-coming business leaders through Techstars, a worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed.

Melanie’s innovative approach to talent development was informed by her first consulting role at Accenture, where she trained in large-scale talent and change management practices. She later found her niche working with dynamic, fast-paced, founder-led tech companies.

Melanie holds a Bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master of Education in Organizational Learning, Performance & Change from Colorado State University.