Melisa Adiram

Project Specialist

Office for Inclusion and Civil Rights

Melisa Adiram is the Project Specialist in the Office for Inclusion and Civil Rights. In this role, she supports the office’s strategic initiatives, communications, operations, and signature programs across UConn and UConn Health. Her work includes managing logistics for signature events like the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Living Legacy Convocation and Health Equity Research Symposium. Melisa also supervises the office’s undergraduate employee, oversees office communication and reports, and provides programmatic support at UConn Health.

Melisa started at UConn in 2023 as the Executive Assistant in the former Office for Diversity and Inclusion. In that role, she supported senior leadership, managed executive communications and scheduling, responded to sensitive inquiries, and assisted with reports and presentations for University leadership and the Board of Trustees.

Prior to UConn, Melisa worked at the CT State Community College system office from 2021 to 2023, serving as an Administrative Assistant and Project Manager. In this role, she supported student success initiatives, institutional projects, and efforts focused on addressing equity gaps among Connecticut’s diverse community college student population. Melisa began her career in higher education administration at Barnard College, where she served as an Administrative Assistant in the Dean of Studies Office from 2016 to 2021. There, she supported various student populations including sophomores, transfer students, first-generation low-income students, and pre-health advising.

Melisa is a proud UConn alumna—’16 (CLAS)—with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and Family Sciences. She earned her Master of Arts in Higher Education and Student Affairs from NYU Steinhardt in 2021. As a proud first-generation college graduate, her professional interests include student success, inclusive excellence, community engagement, and developing programs and systems that help institutions better serve their communities.