Meet our latest Girl Crush!
To know Melanie Spring is to love her. Melanie is a passionate, driven and enthusiastic professional with a heart of gold. I can’t tell you the where or when she first came across my radar screen but I can tell you that she drew me in and became of the people that I’ve constantly admired. She’s an amazing speaker, marketer, communicator and teacher and because she continues to inspire me across my professional (and human) journey, I figured I’d share some of her magic with the world as well.
You’re welcome.
Tell us a little about your life and career…
That’s a BIG huge question for a storyteller. I always knew I was meant to be a teacher, yet my life and career took me down the branding path. I have been a brand strategist my whole career, until realizing that speaking and being a speaker trainer was really my calling. I shut down a 7-year branding firm to pursue what really made my heart sing. Now I’m the Chief Storyteller and Approachable Badass at Melanie Spring Productions focusing fully on my SPEAK With Confidence Retreat and my Rock Your Pitch corporate training in between flying all over the world giving keynote speeches. All of which can be found at melaniespring.com
On the more personal side, I’m recently married and enjoying downtown Denver, CO with my husband and my Maltese, Griffin, after 12 years of building a life & business in Washington, DC. I’ve lived all over and have settled down with a view of the mountains in between my travels. I mostly work, but when I do actually take some downtime, you’ll typically find me hiking or enjoying a great read at a local coffee shop.
Who have been your biggest role models? Why?
I have two.
Amanda Harris, my communications professor at Keuka College, had pushed herself through business with just a high school diploma and skyrocketed through her career despite her lack of a college degree. She was always reminding her students that they could do anything they put their mind to as long as they put in the work.
Talis Hollingsworth, my boss at Kelly Services, lead by example and was the epitome of a great leader. She reminded her whole team how amazing they were, focused on our strengths, and was our cheerleader – making sure we knew we were appreciated. We all worked harder for her than any other boss. She was my best example of what a real boss could be.
What do you love about your job and/or life?
My life and my job are so entangled – and what I love most about them both is that I get to meet and keep incredible humans. A lot of the people who come to a retreat or hire me to help their team end up becoming life-long friends. Keeping in touch with them, inviting a lot of them to my wedding, and even going on vacation with them – what a treasure to keep these amazing humans around.
What has brought you or given you the greatest satisfaction or fulfillment?
Every time I host a SPEAK With Confidence Retreat, I get to watch speakers get on stage with confidence after fighting with their talks the whole week. The deep personal work they do to bring their talks to life transforms me into the proudest mom possible. I want nothing more than to watch them succeed, share their message, and make money doing what they love. I can’t imagine anything else being more fulfilling than knowing I helped another human being step fully into who they were meant to be.
Something most people don’t know about you?
My middle name is Spring. It wasn’t until I got married that everyone found out that my last name is Harris. I’ve been using my middle name as my professional last name since I was 19. Now my last name is Russell – but my brand name will always be Melanie Spring.
Name one thing on your bucket list.
Hiking the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim. My motto is Life Without Limits and I want to be able to hike it without having to train. Lots to do to make that happen, but I’m excited about the journey!
When/where do you get your best ideas?
Between 4:30-6:30am before the sun comes up sitting in my living room with my floor to ceiling windows watching the sunrise with no distractions.
Name three things you can’t live without.
My husband – how did I do ANYTHING by myself before Dan?!
A Moleskine notebook – it’s the only kind that lays flat & has the best paper.
A walkable city – I lived in the suburbs in Colorado between DC & Denver and it was the worst.
Oddest thing in your purse right now?
I take my backpack more places than any purse – so I’d say the oddest thing in my backpack is a mini bottle of Jameson for a hotel-made hot toddy when I was under the weather on a speaking tour. Being a road warrior, I have to make sure I have my supplies!
Current fashion/beauty obsession?
I hate shopping more than anything. I walk into a store and my brain goes sideways. My latest fashion obsession is that I have finally hired a personal stylist to get my speaking & training wardrobe together. She’s about to blow up my closet – which means I won’t just be wearing black shirts & jeans anymore. Woohoo! Check her out: www.jesruzic.com
Favorite thing to do in your area?
Denver is SUCH an amazing city and there are WAY too many things to do between hiking in the foothills & mountains, tours at the breweries, and the incredible new restaurants popping up all the time. My favorite thing to take tourists to is Red Rocks Amphitheater. It actually won the best venue award so many times that they disqualified Red Rocks from it and called it the Red Rocks award. It’s the coolest music venue ever created.
Stalk her online:
Website: MelanieSpring.com
Instagram: @melaniespring
Facebook: @MelanieSpringSpeaker
LinkedIn: @MelanieSpringSpeaker
