Hello!
Here’s how I can help…
Facilitation
Facilitating conversations that move people and business forward…
Training team-members to contribute to your business bottom line…
Coaching to invigorate and activate…
Cultivating inclusive Executive Leaders and Teams…
Relationship Brokering
Commission-based B2B sales, especially in the water & environmental sectors.
Commission-based investment support for start-ups.
Fee-based referrals for technical, PM, leadership, and Advisory/Board team members for businesses in STEM fields.
Independent Offerings
Facilitation, Training, Keynotes +
Design Thinking Workshops
Brainstorming Sessions
Leadership Development
Feedback & Communications training for Leaders
Consulting 101 for Technical Professionals (a.k.a. Real Onboarding for engineers & technologists), a corporate offering
Job Hunting Course for Recent Engineering Grads
Facilitating Her Network and the Hard Tech Accelerator at StartingBlock Madison
Lead to Soar
Advisory, Training, Coaching
Inclusive Leadership Training for Senior & Executive Leaders
Holistic Leadership Development and Training for Cohorts of Women (multiple offerings spanning various aspects of Business Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence, Social Intelligence, Communications, Feedback, etc.)
The Lead to Soar Virtual Network for Women
The Lead to Soar Podcast - a free resource
🗓️ Upcoming Events
October 17
Mel facilitating Her Network at StartingBlock | Guest Business Woman: Sara Conzemius, Co-Founder of Illume Advising
Madison, WI
November
TBD
TBD
December TBD
Unofficial Her Network Holiday Party at The Loxley
Check back for RSVP
2025!
TBD
TBD
Select Past Speaking Engagements
Panelist - The Missing Link in Leadership Advice for Women - UW Construction Engineering, 2024.
Keynote - Making Meaning in the AI Era - Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce, 2024.
Keynote - Women in Water Learning Exchange at the AZ Water Association Statewide Annual Conference, 2024.
Keynote Speaker on International Women’s Day for Confidential Manufacturing Client - “How Women Can Have a Career that Soars!” and “ Networking Like a Boss,” 2024.
Facilitator, CEO Panel - The Lead to Soar Summit, Australia, 2023.
Speaker - “Business, Strategic & Financial Acumen: Concept to Practice” Confidential AE Client, 2023.
Keynote (The Keystone Professional) & Workshop Facilitator (Decoding Confidence; Communication for Engagement) - Confidential AE Client, 2023
Keynote - Private Event for Confidential AE Client - “Choosing to Lead the AE Professionals of Tomorrow,” 2023.
Speaker - “How Women Can Have a Career that Soars!” Confidential Client, 2023.
Facilitator and Co-host of the Lead to Soar Summit, US, 2023.
Keynote - Conference for AEC Leaders, "Your Leadership Pipeline: Closing the Gender Gap." 2023
Presenter - Webinar for AEC Leaders “Prepare Women to be Your A/E/C Firm Leaders of Tomorrow -- Today!,” 2023
Speaker - AEC Senior Executive Briefing, “Advancing Women in AEC,“ 2023
Presenter - University of Pittsburgh Society of Women Engineers FiERCE Forum, 2023
Training Presenter - Confidential Fortune 500 Client, "Sponsorship versus Mentorship." 2022
Keynote - TalentMAX by PSMJ, "Seriously Supporting the Female Talent Pipeline." 2022
Host and Presenter - The Lead to Soar Summit, "Systems for Success." 2022
Podcast Guest - The Everyday Heroine podcast by Maria Kauffman, 2022.
Panelist - University of Pittsburgh Society of Women Engineers FiERCE Forum, 2022
Podcast Guest - Wine After Work with Bryce Batts, 2022
Speaker - Confidential Corporate Client - Teamwork for Creatives, 2022
Speaker - Confidential Corporate Client - Leading for Productivity and Connectivity, 2022
Podcast Guest - "A Smarter Way to Find a Job," American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Plot Points, 2021
Speaker - "Closing the Gender Leadership Gap at the Top," RMWEA, 2021
Speaker/Facilitator - Confidential Corporate Client - Effective Mentorship for Leaders, 2021
Speaker/Facilitator - Confidential Corporate Client - Mentorship and Sponsorship for YPs, 2021
Guest Panelist - GWI, Industrial Facility Water Challenges, 2021
Podcast Guest - Curate the Future, 2021
Podcast Guest - Non-Traditional College Success podcast, 2021
Speaker/Facilitator - Women’s Conference - Developing Your Power Network, 2020
Podcast Guest - Words on Water Podcast by WEF, On the State of Women in the Water Industry, 2021
About Mel…
Bio
Mel Butcher is a Facilitator and Creator with over 15 years of professional experience. Mel speaks and provides training on workplace leadership, engagement, and self-leadership, particularly in AEC/STEM spaces.
Mel is co-President of Lead to Soar, an organization with a mission to close the leadership gender gap using research-backed methods. As part of Lead to Soar, Mel consults directly to organizational leaders on closing the gender leadership gap. She also facilitates courses focused on equipping women with what they most need to advance and earn leadership positions, namely — business, strategic, and financial acumen.
In prior lives, Mel has served as a technical consultant for clients in the US and abroad, providing advisory across leadership, business management, environmental/water risk, and corporate sustainability. Mel holds a BS and MS in Engineering and a BA in Language.