Keynote Speaker: Melissa Ockert, MS, CCRA, CCRP

Melissa Oakley Ockert, MS, CCRA, CCRP

Dean, Health and Wellness

Durham Technical Community College

Melissa Ockert currently serves as the Dean of the Health and Wellness department at Durham Technical Community College, overseeing more than 30 curriculum and short-term training programs in nursing and allied health. She has over 30 years of teaching experience and was the 2004 Durham Tech Excellence in Teaching Award recipient. Before becoming Dean, Melissa was the Program Director of the Clinical Trials Research Associate program and served a term as President of the Consortium of Academic Programs in Clinical Research, helping to develop the core competencies that provided the foundation for future academic programs. 

She has overseen several grants, including a $1 million award from Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC to implement Durham Tech's Mobile Health Lab program, which provides health care services to the community and innovative clinical rotations for students. She recently partnered with Duke Health to implement the Academic Practice Partnership to address faculty shortages at Durham Tech and critical nursing workforce needs at Duke Health.  Her newest initiative is a partnership with Duke Health and Durham Public Schools to implement a $29.5 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to establish an early college high school at Durham Tech for students pursuing healthcare careers, which includes a pathway in clinical research.

Melissa began her clinical research career in 1989 at Wake Forest University (WFU), where she worked on a National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Institute (NIAMS) grant. She also led several federally funded clinical research studies under the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Clinical Research Contract. She has experience in clinical research monitoring, data management, project management and clinical operations management in multiple therapeutic areas.

Melissa holds a Master of Science degree in Exercise Physiology from Wake Forest University, where she served as Program Leader for the Beginner Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. She also taught undergraduate classes at WFU and Winston-Salem State University. Melissa is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Advanced Practice Leadership in Public Health at the University of South Florida, with a research focus on mental health protective factors for college students and transition-age youth.