Spaulding for Children

Melinda Lis

Vice President, Academy for Family Support and Preservation

Melinda Lis has worked in child welfare over the past 20 years. Currently she is Vice President of the Academy for Family Support and Preservation at Spaulding for Children.

She has led several national adoption/foster care initiatives. Ms. Lis worked as a Research Specialist at the Children and Family Research Center at the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign where she coordinated a national project with courts and child welfare agencies. Her work at the Center also involved assistance with the coordination of a statewide research project on post adoption services. Prior to her work at the Center, Melinda was the Special Assistant to the Chief of Operations at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Melinda was the Co-Founder and Director of a child welfare agency called Human Service Technologies that conducted training and implemented statewide initiatives in Illinois.

Melinda received her Masters degree from the University of Chicago and her Bachelor degree from the University of Alabama. Melinda and her husband were licensed foster parents in Illinois and have since adopted three children.