Melissa Ruth Fleming is an American journalist, author, and United Nations official. She has been head of the
United Nations Department of Global Communications
The United Nations Department of Global Communications (DGC) (previously named the United Nations Department of Public Information) is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nations. It is tasked with raising public awareness and support o ...
since 2019.
She is the author of ''
A Hope More Powerful than the Sea.''
Education
Melissa Fleming holds a bachelor's degree in German studies from
Oberlin College, Ohio and a masters' degree in broadcast journalism from
Boston University, Massachusetts.
Career
Fleming started her career as a journalist. Between 1989 and 1994, Fleming worked as a Public Affairs Specialist for
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Munich. From September 1994 to January 2001 she was head of the Press and Public Information Team at the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, pro ...
in Vienna. In January 2001 Fleming took over as Spokesperson and Head of the Media and Outreach at the
International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, a post she held until June 2009.
From July 2009 to 2019, Fleming worked as Head of Global Communications for the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva and as the Spokesperson for the High Commissioner. Her comments on the
2015 European refugee crisis gained attention across the continent. At UNHCR, she led campaigns, social media engagement and a multimedia news service covering stories designed to generate empathy and stir action for refugees. In 2017 she wrote ''
A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea'' book about Syrian refugee
Doaa Al Zamel's experiences leading up to and during the
2014 Malta migrant shipwreck.
She began hosting the UNHCR podcast, Awake at Night, and carried the podcast over to the UN in 2019.
From 2016 to 2017, she served as Senior Advisor and Spokesperson on the incoming United Nations Secretary General’s Transition Team. On September 1, 2019 she was appointed an
Under Secretary-General
An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under-s ...
of the United Nations, taking over from predecessor
Alison Smale
Alison Smale is a British journalist. From 2017 until 2019, she served as the Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, United Nations Department of Public Information.
Appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on ...
as head of the UN Department of Global Communications.
References
External links
Melissa Fleming’s Medium BlogAWAKE AT NIGHT Podcast with Melissa Fleming
Melissa Fleming and Jeremy Heimans on countering vaccine falsehoods
Melissa Fleming and John Whyte on vaccine equity
TEDGlobal, ''Let's help refugees thrive, not just survive'', October 2014TED, A boat carrying 500 refugees sunk at sea, The story of two survivors, 2015.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Melissa
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Oberlin College alumni
Boston University alumni
21st-century American journalists
American expatriates in Austria
20th-century American journalists
20th-century American women writers
American expatriates in Germany
American women journalists
American officials of the United Nations
21st-century American women writers