Melinda Steffy

Founder & Principal

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Melinda Steffy (she/her) founded Concentric Strategy in 2020. She loves when creative practice and social impact collide, and her 20-year career in the nonprofit sector has been shaped by her perspective as an artist and educator. She brings innate creativity and nimbleness to her work, making complex ideas come to life through careful process, attention to detail, and abundant empathy. 

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Previously, Melinda served as Executive Director of music nonprofit LiveConnections for 8+ years. LiveConnections specialized in culturally relevant, community-centered music-making, creating educational programs for city schools, leading song-writing residencies for youth, and presenting collaborative concerts. From start-up phase through significant growth, Melinda built infrastructure and expanded programming, fundraising, marketing and communications, and operations. She spearheaded major community engagement projects such as the two-year “A Song Everyone Can Sing” initiative, focused on accessibility for people with disabilities in choral singing, as well as the launch of the Philadelphia Lullaby Project in partnership with Carnegie Hall. When long-time partner venue World Cafe Live approached LiveConnections about a merger, Melinda was instrumental in the decision-making, due diligence (legal, financial, operational), and planning processes that led the two organizations to combine into a single nonprofit.

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She previously held positions at The Music School of Delaware, SteegeThomson Communications, and Woodland Montessori School; volunteered with Tshwane Leadership Foundation; and served on the boards of the Wilmington Classical Guitar Society and Chestnut Street Singers. Melinda has an MFA in painting from University of the Arts and a bachelor's degree in religious studies with a concentration in justice, peace, and conflict studies from Eastern Mennonite University.

Melinda is a LEADERSHIP Philadelphia alum and Standards for Excellence Pennsylvania Licenced Consultant.