About

Melissa Weiler Gerber, Founder and Principal

I’m Melissa Weiler Gerber (she/her), CollectivePromise LLC’s Founder and Principal, bringing my nearly 25 years of social justice CEO experience, extensive board service, lead management CBA negotiating expertise, and legal background to this work. I have led progressive organizations through unionization, pivotal leadership transitions, funding threats, political and financial crises, the launch and redesign of advocacy initiatives to complement programming, renaming and rebranding, and leadership vision development and implementation.

I am a lawyer turned nonprofit executive who has spent nearly 25 years in the CEO seat fighting for gender equity and sexual and reproductive health access for all people; a graduate of Princeton University and Georgetown University Law Center; the lead negotiator for management throughout 2.5 years of inaugural CBA negotiations; a passionate and compelling communicator; a past senior attorney for a housing advocacy shop; a current or past member of a variety of local, regional, and national nonprofit boards in the areas of pro bono legal services, alternative funding, food insecurity, good government, sexual and reproductive health services, and community capital investment; a proud mom to two amazing twenty-somethings; a curious and intrepid traveler; a Camino pilgrim; a later-in-life runner; a devotee of ethically made dark chocolate; a person who will watch a documentary about almost anything. 

What I am not – your labor or employment counsel.  While I believe my legal training and experience are an asset to this work, I am in no way serving as legal counsel or providing legal advice or services in this role. Instead, I will guide you through the myriad discussions and decision points which often relate more to your business, its mission, its finances, and its values.  In this way, I aim to help you use counsel more strategically.