Melissa Mellen
Melissa Mellen is the Director of Third-Party Risk Management for a prestigious corporate banking institution, a small business owner, and yoga enthusiast, practitioner, and instructor.
Melissa’s passion is providing guidance and support to fitness practitioners that are considering the pursuit of small business ownership. Her areas of consultative expertise include infancy and early stages of strategic planning and development. Melissa also works with established business owners to re-imagine existing business models and strategy. Melissa creates client-specific toolkits designed to simplify process navigation for new or prospective small business owners. Understanding and carefully considering risk factors (i.e., business models, financials, client base, competitors) upfront is key to success and longevity.
Melissa has over 15 years’ experience focused on risk management in corporate banking/finance. In her current role, as the Director of Third-Party Risk Management, Melissa leads a department dedicated to protecting the interest of their respective banking institution through ensuring a multitude of risk domains, including cyber security, data privacy, ethical, financial, and reputational risks are fully evaluated prior to embarking on a new, or continuing an existing relationship with a third-party vendor. In this capacity, Melissa also mentors diverse and small businesses on how to do business with private and public sector financial institutions.
Melissa embarked on her yoga journey upon the self-realization that she needed a healthy balance between her corporate career and prioritizing mental and physical wellness.
Melissa studied as a disciple of Sri Dharma Mittra at the Dharma Yoga Center of New York where she completed her 200-, 500-, and 700-Hour Dharma Yoga Registered Teacher (DYRT) certifications. She is also certified with Yoga Alliance as a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT).
In 2020, Melissa founded Blue Knows Consulting (a play on words and tribute to her blue nose American Pitbull Terrier) , a small business focused on delivering a holistic practice of mindful meditation, pranayama, and all-levels asana. She believes that an optimal yoga experience is achieved through creating a diverse and inclusive wellness environment. She encourages her students to bring their authentic selves to class, and to embrace differences, which she adoringly refers to as super powers!
Melissa lives with her husband Kevin, and fur-baby Viggo in northern New Jersey, just minutes away from her favorite city, New York City. She is also an animal lover, advocate, and rescuer.