Melissa Rau

Melissa Rau is the Senior Program Director of Leadership. She joined the ECF staff in April 2018 and is responsible for overseeing the Leadership Resources areas, which includes Vital Practices, webinars and training, publications, and the ECF Fellowship Partners program. In addition to overseeing ECF’s existing leadership initiatives, Melissa is helping ECF discern its unique contribution to entrepreneurial and transformational leadership in the wider church. Prior to joining ECF, she served churches as a consultant doing strategic visioning, assessments, facilitation, training, and coaching. She has studied with Princeton Theological Seminary, the General Theological Seminary, and Candler School of Theology. She has written and published curriculum and numerous articles for online and printed publications, and more recently co-authored a book—Ten Solutions for Small Churches. She has extensive ecumenical experience in parishes throughout the country.

Melissa is married to the Rev. Mike Rau, Rector at Holy Nativity in Rockledge, PA. They have two daughters and a son. Melissa loves to read and is particularly fond of giraffes and the color orange.