Member Q&A with Andrea Melcher
The PRSA Hoosier Chapter is conducting member profiles throughout the year to facilitate connections within the Chapter. We are pleased to introduce Andrea Melcher.
Name: Andrea Melcher
Position: Marketing Writer/Editor
Employer: Faegre Baker Daniels
College Attended: Butler University
PRSA Position: Diversity Chair
Q: What are you reading now (or have read in the past) that you think other PRSA members would be interested in?
In the past few years I’ve sought out books that touch on issues of race and cultural difference, which has been enlightening. Some of the best reads were The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, My Beloved World by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, The Grace of Silence, Tomlinson Hill: Sons of Slaves, Sons of Slaveholders, Twelve Years a Slave and Roots.
Q: What’s your coolest career experience to date?
In the fall of 2014 I was called upon to reimagine our law firm’s internal newsletter and breathe life and imagination into it. The possibilities were wide open to me in a professional setting that is usually quite serious. I based the redesigned newsletter around The Skimm, and the result is a weekly email that is witty, tongue-in-cheek and ties our news in to relevant cultural moments. I’ve written editions based on everything from the birth of a royal baby to Pokemon Go, and taken fun twists such as an edition with riddles for headlines. I’m so grateful that our director of communications and our CMO supported my vision and believed in my creativity for this project. Writing it is the best part of every work week!
Q: What’s one place you have yet to travel/or your favorite place you’ve visited?
Paris is beautiful. Hiking the Grand Canyon was amazing. Still on the list are seeing the Northern Lights in Iceland, ziplining in South America and exploring my family heritage in Germany.
Q: What advice would you give to your 15-year-old self?
Calm down. Everything is going to be okay. Stop trying to control everything and just enjoy the adventure of this life as it comes. Things won’t always go as you plan, but somehow, they’ll work out better than you expected.
Q: What is your favorite app?
My list app. I’m incredibly organized and very passionate about my lists. My friends tease me about all the lists on my phone, which include everything from the usual “to-dos” to gift ideas for friends/family to encouraging truths to read when I feel discouraged to a wish list of items I’d like to purchase to activities I’d like to do in Indy.