Melissa Morales — A Capitol Communicator Profile
Editor’s Note: Capitol Communicators is a profile series spotlighting the people shaping the present and future of advertising, digital, marketing and public relations in the Mid-Atlantic. This profile features Melissa Morales, General Manager and Partner at GMMB.
Melissa Morales really lives the GMMB brand. She started as an intern nearly two decades ago, taking on increasingly larger roles, becoming a Partner early in 2025, and was named General Manager last October. Along the way, she learned from some of the top names in political advocacy. The firm counts Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden among its clients; it’s also known for progressive issue and advocacy campaigns, including the health care work that is so important to Morales. She’s been on the front lines of health care reform at the national and state levels, and counts meeting the people who benefited from her work as one of the most rewarding aspects of it. She named the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, the Missouri Foundation for Health, and advising states on health policies through State Health and Value Strategies as part of her portfolio.
She also met her future husband while they were both working at GMMB!
Now, as GM, she’s overseeing the firm’s business strategy and operations, while still focusing on client experience, as well as innovation and growth. Of course, technology plays a big part in this work, though Morales says she loves using pen and paper to encourage her own creativity and listening skills. Her large network of connections led to what she describes as one of the coolest things she’s ever done: White House holiday decorating! Always making connections; a skill that will serve her well in managing teams in offices in DC, Seattle and San Francisco in a chaotic time for the political and communications community.
Melissa, please tell us about yourself.
So much of my story is tied into GMMB’s story. I’m a proud Terp who happened upon a university job center listing for GMMB nearly two. decades ago. Now I help Marylanders get connected to health coverage. I’m a first-generation Latina who collaborates with our clients and creative and media teams to make sure our messages resonate with and reach diverse communities.I’m a parent who is lucky to have access to free pre-K and dual-language public schools, at the same time that I help families push for more access across our country.
I got my start as a GMMB intern and am now the firm’s general manager – with plenty of time, effort and mistakes in between!. I had a chance to grow, learn, and take on bigger challenges because people invested in me. Now, I want to do for others what was done for me. And I want to help GMMB grow too. By continuing to be a partner that clients know they can trust with their biggest challenges.
What are the things you are most proud of?
I’m most proud of the opportunities I’ve had to actually connect policy to people. I often think of the cancer patient I was able to connect to free transportation for appointments…or the grandmother who lost a loved one to drunk driving and joined us at a governor’s no-texting-while-driving bill signing… or the parents and babies we’ve brought to DC to meet their members of Congress to talk about the importance of paid family leave and childcare. These moments were tied to bigger campaigns, but they stick with me because they are personal. Seeing how much our work matters in people’s lives keeps me going.
Tell us about your new role.
As GMMB’s new general manager, part of my job is thinking about where the firm is headed and how we can keep evolving to best meet our client needs. That keeping pace with things like AI, understand what’s happening in politics and policy, and staying close to the issues our clients care about: health, environment, science, education and more.
But the part I’m most excited about is getting to work more closely with the people across the firm. Our creatives, media relations experts, digital strategists, media buyers and producers. Our accounting and talent and culture teams who literally keep us running. And spending more time with our teams in Seattle and San Francisco.
The tools and technology available to us are changing fast. In the hands of our talented people – when we are thoughtful and intentional about how we use them – we can do better work for our clients and have a bigger impact. That’s what I want to build toward.
What are the skills that are necessary to be successful today?
Curiosity. Doing the work as assigned might get you through your to-do list, but it’s rarely enough to actually break through. The real work is asking questions, challenging assumptions and looking left when everyone else is looking right.
What tools should we be using to be successful?
Pen and paper. I use plenty of digital tools to organize notes and manage my lists – from OneNote to Notes to Keep. But nothing beats pen and paper. It forces me to listen first. I jot down only the most important points and action items. And it gives me a canvas to give ideas more breadth because few things are linear and easily typed.
What advice helped you most in your career and is that advice still relevant today?
A few years into my time at GMMB, I was managing the internship program. I organized a lunch-and-learn with a senior partner who shared a story from his own early years at the company. When he turned in a document, his boss immediately asked: “Is this your best work?” He paused. Took it back. Reworked it. Then it was ready to share. I hope our interns took that lesson to heart. I definitely did. I still ask myself that question. Work doesn’t have to be perfect to move forward or hand it off to someone else. But that extra push? That’s often the difference between a good start and a great one.
What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever done?
I spent a week at the White House decorating for Christmas. It felt like the DC version of “Night at the Museum.” I made wreaths and tied ribbons, decorated the gold star tree, fluffed fake snow in what used to be the East Colonnade, and stood atop a ladder on the North Portico to build up a festive planter – all while tourists were snapping away. The coolest part was meeting volunteers from all over the country while we worked our way through the beautiful, historic building. It was surreal.
How’d you manage to do that?
Traditionally, volunteer decorators come in from across the country. But in 2021, the Biden family’s first Christmas in the White House, COVID restrictions required them to stick to local volunteers. They put a call out through staff’s networks and I applied! Although my interior decorating experience was scant, I had been featured in a popular home design website – so perhaps that did the trick.
Capitol Communicators profiles will allow you to meet some of the most interesting and insightful pros in our region, learn how they stay ahead of the curve and pick up practical wisdom during a time of constant change.
Capitol Communicator is a sister company of CommPRO.
