Isela Melendez Carpio

Isela Melendez Carpio (she/her/hers) is the Employee Resource Group (ERG) Program manager at AIR. She is a diversity, equity, and inclusion champion and a leader who seeks to cultivate a welcoming environment by building genuine relationships through a dynamic and collaborative approach.

Prior to AIR, her tenure at Georgetown University started as the assistant director of Academic and Student Affairs at the McCourt School of Public Policy supporting professional graduate students and providing administrative support to faculty. She was then promoted to director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Georgetown University School of Medicine, where she oversaw and managed four pipeline programs for high school and undergraduate students, as well as leading various diversity councils, student organizations, and trainings.

During her early career, she worked for numerous college access and youth development organizations, such as the Posse Foundation, Liberty’s Promise, and Edu-Futuro. As a first-generation college student, she seeks to cultivate and foster spaces where underrepresented populations feel like they belong and are equipped with the tools needed to succeed and thrive.

Isela was born in El Salvador and raised in Arlington, Va. She holds a Master of Education in higher education from the University of Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Richmond. In 2021, she became an honoree recipient for Northern Virginia’s 40 Under 40.