Melissa Hughes
Advisory Committee
Melissa “Missy” Hughes is secretary and CEO of WEDC, Wisconsin’s lead economic development organization.
Before joining WEDC in October 2019, she was general counsel and chief mission officer at Organic Valley.
Her previous positions include associate attorney at the firm of Holland & Hart, where she practiced in the areas of natural resources, construction litigation and corporate business transactions.
She served on the boards of the Environmental Working Group and the Organic Trade Association, where she was a three-term board president.
The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture appointed Hughes to the USDA Advisory Committee on Agriculture and Biotechnology in the 21st Century. Hughes received her bachelor of arts in political science from Georgetown University and juris doctor degree from the University of Wyoming College of Law.