Melissa Deas is a Technical Director at Cadmus where she collaborates with federal, state, and local clients to find creative solutions to complex resilience challenges. She has an extensive record in strategic planning, building consensus, hazard mitigation, and critical infrastructure protection. Prior to joining Cadmus, Melissa served as the Chief Resilience Officer for the District of Columbia and the Resilience Bureau Chief at the District’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. Throughout her career, she has successfully transformed resilience concepts into actionable, funded projects, including the District’s first extreme heat plan, a revolving loan fund for resilient housing retrofits, and the first FEMA-funded microgrid. As a dedicated member of the ASAP community for the past ten years, Melissa has contributed as a mentor, panel speaker, and participant in various working groups. She is committed to enhancing ASAP's offerings to meet the evolving needs of the adaptation field and to support professionals at all career stages.