Melissa Monteiro is the Chief Executive Officer of the Community Migrant Resource Centre.

Melissa holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Social Work and brings over 25 years of experience in the community sector. She has extensive experience across the not-for-profit sector and is highly skilled in building relationships and managing diverse stakeholders, including government, to achieve positive and sustainable outcomes.

Based in Western Sydney, Melissa leads a multidisciplinary, medium-sized organisation delivering a broad range of services across New South Wales, including child protection, settlement services, women’s services, family support, domestic and family violence, youth, and business services.

Melissa has a strong focus on addressing the intersection of resettlement challenges, investing in innovative service delivery approaches while ensuring prevention and early intervention programs are responsive to the unique strengths and needs of diverse communities.

She is a Pro Bono Australia IMPACT 25 winner and was appointed Salvation Army Multicultural Ambassador in 2020. Melissa is a passionate advocate for vulnerable communities and represents their interests across all levels of government.

Melissa serves on a number of local and national advisory boards and committees. She is the Chair of the Settlement Council of Australia (SCOA), a steering committee member of the Women, Peace and Security Coalition of Australia, a member of the NSW Police Multicultural Advisory Council, and was a Board Director at Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD).

She has also partnered with Western Sydney University (WSU) as a primary investigator on several research projects, including work focused on the sexual and reproductive health of migrant and refugee women.