Melissa Winkler

Senior Director, Communications

As senior director of communications, Melissa Winkler oversees media relations and other visibility projects. Serving as a spokesperson, she leads efforts to raise public awareness about the IRC's humanitarian aid work and to spotlight hidden and forsaken crises.  

Ms. Winkler frequently deploys with the IRC's Emergency Response Team when it is dispatched to humanitarian crises. Her articles, photographs and blogs have been widely published. Ms. Winkler began working at the IRC in 2000, initially serving as the IRC's web site and publications editor, in addition to her media portfolio. Prior to joining the IRC, she worked as a radio and television reporter in Washington, D.C. and New York.  

Ms. Winkler graduated from Syracuse University with degrees in international relations and broadcast journalism.