Staff
Melinda A. Merrell, Ph.D., MPH
Senior Director of Grantmaking
Melinda spearheads the Foundation’s grant programs, working closely with the team to develop and execute a grantmaking strategy that supports the Foundation’s mission to reduce poverty in South Carolina. She will oversee all grants awarded annually, embracing principles rooted in transparency, trust, humility, and alignment with the Foundation’s core values.
Prior to this role, she was a Clinical Assistant Professor and MHA Program Director in the Department of Health Services Policy and Management in the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina (USC) and served as a Research Assistant Professor in the Rural and Minority Health Research Center, also in the Arnold School. During this time, Melinda was a lead author of the Foundation’s 2020 Poverty Study! Earlier in her career, she was Senior Program Director with the South Carolina Office of Rural Health.
Education
Ph.D. in Health Services Policy & Management
University of South Carolina, Columbia S.C.
MPH in Health Behavior
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham A.L.
B.S. in Biology
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham A.L.
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, so long as ever you can.”
John Wesley
