Hi - my name is Melanie Ho.

I’m a former corporate executive who has built businesses, served as a consultant to university presidents, and written an award-winning business book…

…and I’m also a visual artist, multi-media storyteller, and former university literature instructor with an English Ph.D….

….I used to think these were two separate sides of myself — the “business leader” and the “artist/storyteller”…

…But now I see the blending of these two sides as central to my work as a professional speaker, workshop facilitator, and creator.

My story

I received my PhD in English and served in university leadership roles before spending twelve years in business and consulting. Working with both corporate and non-profit executives to implement difficult change initiatives, I realized how often leaders felt they were running into walls. They knew their organizations needed bolder transformations, whether in strategy or culture. But, simply put, they couldn’t get unstuck.

Luckily, there are solutions. I’m inspired by the fact that Fortune 500 companies and universities alike have started using the techniques of science fiction writers to help with strategic planning. Through arts and storytelling, we can find new techniques to get out of trapped mindsets, grapple with emotionally-charged issues, and envision different futures. I left my corporate job during the pandemic to start Strategic Imagination, a firm dedicated to the power of the imaginative arts to help organizations achieve transformational change.

Together, we’ll start with the most important leadership concepts — and then make them come alive through the power of the imaginative arts.  You’ll find the strategic imagination at the center of my work as a speaker and workshop facilitator, as well as in my writing and art.

Official Bio

Melanie Ho is an award-winning author, keynote speaker, and workshop facilitator who has worked with Fortune 500 organizations, rising start-ups, leading universities, non-profits, and government groups.  She blends 20 years of expertise in the leadership of complex organizations with her perspective as an artist and multi-media storyteller.  Her unique workshops and interactive keynotes help audiences get to bolder transformations by starting with today’s most important leadership concepts – and then coming alive through the power of art and storytelling.  

Across the past 20+ years, Melanie has delivered over a thousand presentations to a wide range of audience sizes and types. Her experience includes facilitating retreats for chief executives; addressing 1000+-person audiences; and appearing on NPR, CBS, and NBC. She speaks on a variety of topics, including leading change; organizational culture; women in leadership; diversity, equity, and inclusion; the future of education; and the use of creativity and the arts in business.  

Melanie is the founder of Strategic Imagination, a firm dedicated to drawing on the power of the imaginative arts (i.e., comics, theater, fiction) to inspire social and organizational change, and she is especially passionate about inspiring reflection and action on gender and racial equity. Her debut book Beyond Leaning In: Gender Equity & What Organizations are Up Against received a silver medal in the 2022 Axiom Awards recognizing the world’s best business books, and has been acclaimed by Kirkus Reviews as “an engaging evolution of Sheryl Sandberg’s ‘Lean In’ mantra.”  As a visual artist, Melanie has also drawn dozens of comics about DEI in the workplace and was described by Film Daily as “one of the most empowering authors and visual artists right now.” 

Prior to starting her own business, Melanie served as SVP and GM of Research at EAB Global, an education technology and consulting firm headquartered in Washington, DC (formerly part of The Advisory Board Company, sister company of the Corporate Executive Board).  As a founding member of the EAB leadership team, she helped grow an internal startup from 30 staff to over 1000 and acquisition by Vista Equity Partners for $1.55B.  Melanie led a team of 100+ consultants that provided management advice to 1500+ universities worldwide, including 90% of the US News Top 100.  She has personally advised hundreds of university presidents and other executive leaders on a wide range of strategic and leadership matters. While Melanie’s work currently spans industries, she continues select consulting work in higher education.

Prior to her twelve years at EAB, Melanie taught literature, visual culture, and leadership courses at UCLA while earning her Ph.D. in English.  She received UCLA's Distinguished Teaching Award for her innovations in using technology in the classroom and experiential education. She also served in many leadership roles, including as Chair of the Board of Directors of ASUCLA, the $75 million business that comprises restaurants, bookstores, trademarks and licensing, and other services at UCLA. Her doctoral dissertation, USEFUL FICTION, looked at the practical applications of novels in a changing world.

She grew up in California and currently lives in Washington, DC.