PBN 2020 Leaders & Achievers Awards
Melissa Travis | CEO and president, Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants
OVER THE PAST 20 years, Melissa Travis’ dedication and passion have propelled her to great heights in the Rhode Island business community, including her election as CEO and president of the Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants in 2019. She is the first woman in the customer-based organization’s history to ever serve in that role.
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Travis also spearheaded the creation and launch of the RI Business Forum, the first-ever statewide, multiindustry platform highlighting innovation and economic development across Rhode Island. The group also became the first state society in the country to implement a workforce development program to provide critical industry talent, a significant move as Rhode Island rebounds from the COVID-19 crisis.
But many don’t know of the personal loss Travis has experienced that served as motivation for her. After having lost both of her parents in a very short period of time, Travis – who had just become the first woman ever elected to serve on the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association board of directors – was dealt another major blow.
“My younger brother Scott was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer within a year,” Travis said. “My brother Herb and I drove him to his treatments every day and took turns caring for him.”
At the time, Travis was planning the association’s first Healthcare Summit and would serve as the event’s moderator. Presidents from multiple health insurance carriers, Rhode Island’s health insurance commissioner and many prominent business leaders were planning to attend.
But Travis’ brother pushed her to be at the summit, she said.
Travis said she began strategizing about the event whenever she could take a break. But her brother’s health deteriorated and he was placed in hospice care. Travis stayed with him day and night.
“The night before the summit,” Travis said, “the doctors told us, ‘He should have passed hours ago but seems determined not to.’ We knew it was because he wanted me at that event. I am told the event was a great success. He passed later that day. I [later] realized determination resonates through our family and there would never be any challenge I could not overcome.”
