A combination of education, experience and passion have enabled Melissa Barton to create an  interesting  career niche for herself in the field of workplace health. Building on an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology and experience in ergonomics consulting at the University of Waterloo, she graduated from the Sauder School of Business with an MBA in 1998.

Following graduation, Melissa accepted a position as Program Manager of Ergonomics with  Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation. While her initial mandate was to reduce worker injuries, her role was ultimately expanded to encompass the creation of a healthy workplace for the organization’s 10,000 employees.    In a subsequent career move, she was hired to start up a Wellness Consulting Practice for the 125 member Ontario Hospital Association. Here she gained a comprehensive understanding of the healthcare system and how system factors impact the health and well being of hospital employees.  Moving to the national level, she then led the Coordinating Secretariat for the Quality Worklife – Quality Healthcare  Collaborative, a pan-Canadian collaborative of over 11 national healthcare partners working together to make all health workplaces healthier.  

Most recently, Melissa has transitioned from the healthcare sector to high tech. In her current position as Manager Global Wellness as Research in Motion (RIM), she is responsible for strategic planning for the company’s Global Healthy Workplace Strategy and leads a team of people who are implementing workplace programs for the company’s employees around the world.  

Originally from St. Marys Ontario, Melissa  enjoys living and working in south western Ontario. RIM head offices are in Waterloo,  a smaller city about an hour outside of Toronto. “I love living in Waterloo,” says Melissa. “ It’s a small safe city with some incredible local farmers’ markets. “  In her spare time, she enjoys travelling and spending time outdoors, “walking the walk” when it comes to personal wellbeing by being active, meditating and volunteering.  

When asked for advice for recent Sauder graduates, she offers the following: Take a job with a good organization (one that supports a healthy culture based on trust and respect for all stakeholders). Learn everything you can about how that organization works and uncover what significant problems they are trying to solve both internally and externally. Think big : use all the entrepreneurial and technical skills you learned at Sauder  to create valuable solutions. Eschew mediocrity, push boundaries and go for best practice. Your spirit of achievement and work will speak for itself and doors will continue to open for you.