Melissa Andrada

Melissa Andrada is a creative DEI strategic advisor, leadership coach, motivational speaker and workshop facilitator collaborating with organizations to design a more loving and equitable society. Her focus within Radical Candor is having heartfelt and uncomfortable conversations on anti-racism and all forms of oppression within the workplace.

Before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, Melissa was the COO and chief learning officer of Learnerbly, a VC-backed startup based in London that helps fast-growing tech companies and creative agencies accelerate the growth of their people. She co-founded the corporate learning arm of the creative consultancy Wolff Olins where she was a lead strategist working on clients that include BT, Skype and Smithsonian in both their New York City and London offices. One of her favorite projects was co-creating the original strategic vision for the MOOC provider FutureLearn as well as their first course, which has reached 85,000+ people.

She frequently gives interactive motivational keynotes focused on empowering marginalized communities (LGBTQ2IA+, women, people of color) and influencing allies to care at organizations that have included The New York Times, Google and Out in Tech. As a queer Filipina American born in Nigeria who came to the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant, Melissa brings an interdisciplinary and intersectional approach to the workplace where strategy and social justice intersect. She’s particularly passionate about collaborating with innovative organizations across tech, health and the creative industries that value education and equity. Outside of work and pandemic lockdown, Melissa can be found practicing a gentle yoga flow, volunteering for the East Bay Meditation Center’s LGBTQ+ sangha, surfing in Siargao and writing heartfelt essays on what it means to be human