Melissa Shapiro

About Melissa Shapiro

I help organizations and professionals navigate growth, leadership transitions, and meaningful career development with clarity and confidence. I’m a Career Advisor, Executive Coach, and Learning & Talent Development leader with over 10 years of experience designing scalable coaching and development programs across higher education, workforce education, and corporate environments. Currently, I’m a consultant, providing individual career advising to mid level managers up to SVPs on career transition, job search strategies, and salary negotiation. Prior to that, I led coaching operations and coached development for a global network of 450+ coaches, ensuring quality, consistency, and measurable client outcomes at scale. My work spanned program design, facilitator enablement, performance standards, and leadership coaching. Previously, I served as a Career Coach within higher education and workforce learning organizations including bootcamps and university-affiliated programs. I coached students and career changers through the full career development process, clarifying direction, strengthening resumes and portfolios, preparing for interviews, and navigating complex job searches. I designed and facilitated career education workshops and partnered with employer-facing teams to align student readiness with hiring needs. I have also worked as a recruiter, gaining first-hand experience with the full hiring lifecycle. That perspective continues to inform how I advise professionals and design career programming, bridging the gap between talent development and real-world hiring practices. Across all of my work, I focus on practical, behavior-based growth. Whether coaching a senior leader stepping into broader scope, advising a student exploring career paths, or developing coaches and facilitators, I translate strategy into action. My foundation as a professional opera singer and music educator continues to shape my approach to leadership and learning. Performance, presence, storytelling, and disciplined practice are skills that can be developed. I bring those principles into coaching, facilitation, and curriculum design to help professionals lead with confidence and authenticity. If you’re strengthening career advising strategy, building leadership capability, or seeking a coach who understands people, hiring realities, and employers’ needs, I’d welcome a conversation.

Experience

1. Career Transition Consultant

   Keystone Partners

   Apr 2025 — Present

   Keystone Partners is a consulting and professional services firm that provides executive coaching, leadership development, career transition, and talent-management solutions for organizations and professionals. I provide career advising to mid level managers up to SVPs on career transition, job search strategies, and salary negotiation, as well as onboard individuals to the LMS.

Education

• Teachers College, Columbia University

  Masters of Arts

• Ithaca College

  Bachelor of Arts - BA

Skills

• Mindfulness Meditation
• Curriculum Development
• Event Planning
• Music Theory
• Social Media
• Sound Healing
• Microsoft Excel
• Creative Writing
• Curriculum Design
• Facebook
• Mindfulness
• Blogging
• Research
• Newsletters
• Social Networking
• Theatre
• Teaching
• Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction
• Microsoft Office
• Public Speaking
• Finale
• Music Education
• Singing
• Writing
• Education
• Elementary Education
• Proofreading
• Editing
• Musical Theatre
• Management
• Music