Melissa Colegrove

My childhood is a quilt of new people, new places, and all things the “new girl” experiences.  I left Colorado with my family when I was 11 and moved to Illinois, Washington, back to Illinois, then Ohio every 1.5-2 years until I left for college.  My lens of how the world works was largely shaped through these recurring transitions.  I found social work after returning to CO to attend college here at CSU.  My original intent was to become a psychologist, but I found that social work drew strengths from an interdisciplinary approach that serves humanity through dynamic, grassroots ways.  I liken my passion for people to my passion for thrifting; there are treasures on shelfs just as there are gems within crowds, sometimes it just takes a new connection to make them sparkle.   Career wise, I spent 10+ years in nonprofits working with many different populations: adolescents emancipating from social services, children of incarcerated parents, unhoused adults coping with mental illness, and the philanthropic organizations that fund nonprofits.  I have worn the hats of counselor, mentor, board member, program manager, community liaison, organizer, grant writer, and researcher.  After dealing with nonprofit burnout, I transitioned into insurance where I thrived for 10 years providing the same level of care to customers needing support understanding the language, changes, costs, and outcomes of personal insurance.  Between those two worlds I witnessed the needs of customer service professionals who were trying their best to manage their own stress, along with the loss and trauma of their customers, without proper training on how to hold space for such things.  From this new perspective, I am building a business focused on improving trauma-informed training accessibility for consumer-based business, like insurance, to empower and educate customer service professionals who want to serve and support people.