LEADERSHIP by Laurie Lauletta-Boshart
Melissa
Granville
Principal Capitol Impact
EDUCATION
Melissa Granville ’ s professional efforts have all been pointed toward making a positive social impact in her community , and Sacramento has been the ideal place for achieving this goal . “ I think in bigger cities , ( there ) are many degrees of separation between the people who actually make the decisions in the city and the people that are doing the community-driven work ,” she says .
But in Sacramento , she says , someone can only be one degree of separation away from those in positions of power : “ That feels both empowering and comes with great responsibility . If I have a seat at the table , I always ask myself , how can I use my power for good ?”
A native of Sacramento , Granville left in 2005 to study strategic communications and play Division I volleyball at Wichita State University in Kansas . After earning both her undergraduate and graduate degrees there , she returned to her hometown in hopes of finding a job in the social impact sector . But the city was still reeling from the effects of the Great Recession and
HEALTH CARE opportunities were sparse . “ My professional network at that point was in Kansas , so I basically started from scratch and had to develop a professional network in a recession ,” she says .
Vanessa Walker
Granville worked in ticketing operations with the Sacramento River Cats and then spent a year with AmeriCorps in community
MEDICAL DIRECTOR • Sutter Health Valley Area electronic ICU
outreach before landing a position at the nonprofit Food Literacy Center . She wore several hats — outreach coordinator , community relations officer and community partnerships director — but was ultimately looking for a role that mixed philanthropy and advocacy work in the policymaking space . “ The hardest part of my professional career was just taking that step forward and not really knowing where I would land ,” she says . “ But I learned something from every single experience , regardless of whether I thought it was a career job or not , and that has led me to where I am now .”
Granville is now a firm principal at Capitol Impact , a consulting firm that provides management and advising to the social sector . She handles strategic communications , program management , and public policy and philanthropy advising for major government and nonprofit clients , including managing the day-today operations of the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards , an annual grant program that recognizes individuals who are advancing solutions for California ’ s critical issues .
Outside work , Granville joined the Sacramento hub of the Global Shapers Community , a World Economic Forum-launched network of young people who want to impact the dialogue around policymaking . She is particularly proud of the bid her chapter won to host the 2018 Shape North America global conference in Sacramento .
The multiday event brought together more than 200 thought leaders from around the world to discuss important issues and introduce them to Sacramento . As one of the lead planners , Granville helped secure more than $ 90,000 in financial and in-kind support for the conference . The group pulled out all the stops , inviting political , community and business leaders , as well as offering highlights of the region ’ s food , arts and culture communities . “ It was a really immersive Sacramento experience for all of these folks from all over the world that I was really proud of ,” she says . “ Ultimately , it ended up being a very powerful couple of days .”
MURAL BY LAUREN YS
34 comstocksmag . com | July 2021