MELISSA BURSIAGA SMITH
Seal Beach,CA
Summary
Senior Employee Experience and People Programs leader driving enterprise-wide engagement, culture, and lifecycle programs for a 1,000+ remote workforce. Partners with executives and cross-functional teams to turn employee feedback into action, modernize onboarding and communications, and build scalable programs that improve engagement, alignment, and day-to-day employee experience.
Overview
9
9
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Employee Experience Program Manager
TEBRA
01.2024 - Current
- Drive strategy, execution, and continuous improvement for enterprise-wide Employee Experience and People Programs across a 1,000+ remote workforce in the U.S. and Costa Rica.
- Informed executive decision-making and workplace strategy by leading company-wide culture survey listening efforts, translating complex feedback into actionable executive insights.
- Boosted employee engagement by 30% by establishing robust governance, operating frameworks, and strategic programming for the ALL Means ALL ERG initiative.
- Co-created NEX Manager Program within broader Manager Growth Suite, enhancing new-hire success and manager capabilities in collaboration with Talent leadership.
- Generated $40K in recurring annual savings and eliminated manual operational overhead by restructuring the NEX onboarding program into a streamlined 2-day hybrid model with LearnUpon and Pyn automation.
- Accelerated program delivery and reduced manual workloads by integrating AI tools into program operations, knowledge management, and executive communications.
- Engineered enterprise-wide recognition frameworks, enhancing values alignment and culture recognition through initiatives like Thriving Tebrans, IMPACT, and Gold Culture Champion Award.
- Launched Tebra's corporate intranet as lead project manager, coordinating cross-functional teams across build, training, and adoption phases to enhance company-wide communication.
- Standardized enterprise internal communications by authoring a playbook that streamlined messaging, tone, and execution across all employee programs.
Employee Experience Architect, Programs
TEBRA
01.2022 - 01.2024
- Aligned workforce with shared post-merger vision by co-creating Fusion, a company-wide learning and development summit that fostered collaboration and engagement.
- Accelerated emerging leadership growth by designing the Alliance Coaching Program for team members and facilitating the leadership curriculum in the LEADS program, enhancing managerial capabilities.
- Executed 80+ virtual cultural and learning experiences for 300+ employees to drive community and connection in a remote-first organization.
Workplace Experience Specialist + Verification Specialist
HAPPY MONEY
01.2018 - 01.2022
- Enhanced employee experience and workplace operations by supporting events and cross-functional projects in rapidly growing organization.
- Planned and executed 80+ virtual DEI, wellness, leadership, and cultural experiences reaching 300+ employees.
- Co-managed content architecture and data management for successful intranet/CMS launch, improving information access and user engagement.
- Coordinated and delivered training for 19 cross-departmental power users to ensure long-term intranet adoption and content ownership.
- Direct operations and administrative support across 12 strategic initiatives spanning six departments, including the Executive Team, using Asana, UKG, Jira, Ironclad, and Canva.
- Oversaw workplace operations, facility management, vendor relationships, and onboarding logistics to support organizational growth and employee integration.
- Managed and reconciled $200K+ in corporate expenses through Concur, ensuring financial compliance and accurate operational reporting.
- Maintained financial documentation integrity and fraud mitigation compliance using CRM platforms to verify consumer loan applications.
Skills
- Employee Experience Strategy
- Program & Portfolio Management
- Executive Partnership & Communications
- Employee Insights & Listening
- Organizational Change Management
- Manager Enablement & Coaching
- ERG & Culture Strategy
- Digital Process Automation
- Cross-Functional Leadership
- Onboarding & Lifecycle Management
- Budget & Vendor Management
- Systems Optimization
Personal Information
- Title: SENIOR EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE PROGRAM MANAGER
- Gender: SHE/HER
Timeline
Senior Employee Experience Program Manager
TEBRA
01.2024 - Current
Employee Experience Architect, Programs
TEBRA
01.2022 - 01.2024
Workplace Experience Specialist + Verification Specialist
HAPPY MONEY
01.2018 - 01.2022