Melissa McGinnis

Director of MPP Admissions at Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University

Melissa McGinnis is the Director of MPP Admissions at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy, supporting Sanford’s mission to bring in talented and passionate students for leadership, civic engagement, and public service. Raised by a single mother and experiencing food, housing, and income insecurity, she pursued college and began a career in admissions. She supported engineering students at the University of Pennsylvania, worked at Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs for 22 years, and was Assistant Director of Admissions at Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs for over five years. Melissa holds a BA in English from The King’s College and an MEd in college student affairs from Azusa Pacific University. She studied abroad in Spain and volunteered mentoring young adults in South Africa and New Haven, CT. She has served on Truman Scholars interview committees and traveled extensively, including to the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe, as well as many U.S. cities.