Mel has spent most of her life in the sports industry, because she believes that access to a healthy and active life can transform culture. She spent over 17 years at Nike, leading international marketing teams across running, women’s soccer / football and training. She worked on all of Nike’s digital sports and tracking products, and was most recently vice president and general manager for their skateboarding business. Today Mel is managing partner at Next Ventures, a VC fund investing in innovative health, sports and wellness companies. She serves as an advisor to Nike’s accelerator Valiant Labs, sits on the board of performance brand PowerDot, and is an advisor for photography app VSCO. Mel and her husband also run a mountain bike tour guiding company in Hood River, Oregon.