Meet Melissa

Cressey Strategies was founded by Melissa Cressey one of the premiere digital experts not only stateside, but the world. A dual citizen of Sweden and USA, Melissa brings a focus to detail and targeting that is second to none. Melissa ensures the best integration of data and technology to persuade audiences and deliver victories. She has widespread knowledge and expertise having worked in all 50 states and in 10+ countries for campaigns up and down the ballot, advocacy efforts and public affairs initiatives. Melissa has extensive experience running Artificial Intelligence powered digital programs that greatly assists her clients efforts to win.

Most recent experiences where Melissa lead the digital buying strategies includes the following Strother Nuckels Strategies projects: Supreme Court win for Janet Protasiewicz in Wisconsin flipping the court, one of the most competitive Gubernatorial races in the nation for Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, Raul Torrez for Attorney General in New Mexico, Dana Nessel for Attorney General in Michigan, ballot initiative Yes on 19 in California and a large Union-funded Independent Expenditure for Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Pennsylvania U.S. Senator John Fetterman.

Melissa is currently the International Association of Political Consultants (IAPC) Secretary General, and serves on the board of the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) Mid-Atlantic Chapter. She is a co-founder of the AAPC ‘40 under 40 Awards’, served as the IAPC Treasurer 2020-2022 and is the former Program Director of the 2019 IAPC World Conference. She may also be one of the few Swedish-American Kentucky Colonels. 

Melissa has been recognized as a 2019 AAPC “40 under 40”, a 2015 Campaigns & Elections Magazine Rising Star, the recipient of the 2013 AAPC Extraordinary Leadership Award and the 2012 AAPC Distinguished Service Award.

Before starting Cressey Strategies, Melissa worked at one of the best media consultant shops in the country, Strother Nuckels Strategies as Senior Vice President. Prior work includes Vice President of Global Strategies at a top tier digital agency, where she provided the best-in-class digital advertising to political and public affairs campaigns around the world. Melissa’s earlier work included stints as Development Planner at Appleseed Foundation, where she managed and directed the day-to-day work within the development department, and Vice President of Customer Services at Advocacy Data, where she specialized in email targeting for progressive campaigns and organizations, and Pollie Conference Coordinator & Development Director at the American Association of Political Consultants.

Melissa is from Arizona but spent the majority of her childhood growing up close to the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden where she was also able to take advantage of the country’s free education system studying in political science with a focus on American politics and the European Union with a minor in economics and civil law from Karlstad University. Melissa is a 2008 Alumni of American University Washington Semester Program.

Melissa favorite thing to do is to spend time with her dog Hudson the Havanese.