The Kiefer Foundation in Plymouth Township has appointed Melissa Hamrick as its first executive director.
Hamrick brings more than 10 years of experience of nonprofit leadership and distracted driving advocacy expertise to the role and is expected to support the foundation’s strategic efforts, programs, and partnerships including its ongoing work to support policies that empower and engage states to pass effective and enforceable distracted driving laws.
The appointment marks a moment of growth and progress for the foundation, underscoring its long-term commitment deepening its impact and proactively addressing the barriers that lie ahead in the fight to end distracted driving.
“For the past eight years, the Kiefer Foundation has made significant progress towards putting an end to distracted driving to help save lives,” says Steve Kiefer, founder and chairman of the Kiefer Foundation. “We are now taking the next step in appointing our first ever executive director, Melissa Hamrick. What better time to make it happen then during April’s National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. We look forward to working alongside Melissa whose leadership, energy and passion for making our roads safer will be essential in driving our initiatives forward.”
Most recently, Hamrick served as coalition leader for the Florida Teen Safe Driving Coalition, a program housed under the Florida Department of Transportation. In this role, she managed a federally funded, statewide traffic safety subgrant program and oversaw more than 75 public and private partners dedicated to reducing and eliminating teen traffic fatalities across the state. Additionally, she developed strategic mass marketing programs and led multiple robust, evidence-based initiatives aimed to educate the public on the dangers of distracted driving and other relevant traffic safety topics.
Prior to her coalition work, Hamrick spent seven years as state coordinator at the Florida Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) mentoring more than 65 SADD student chapter groups and implementing turn-key campaigns to raise awareness around distracted driving. She co-founded and acted as an executive board member of the Anthony Phoenix Branca Foundation, a non-profit organization in Tallahassee where she was a vital player in supporting legislative and strategic efforts to bring a distracted driving primary enforcement law to the state of Florida.
“I’m honored to join Steve and The Kiefer Foundation in the fight to end distracted driving and make a meaningful, lasting impact on our communities,” says Hamrick. “This cause is incredibly close and personal to me as, tragically, my stepson was lost to a distracted driving crash in 2014. Since then, I’ve made my commitment to advancing education, advocating for stronger laws and driving critical change that has the power to shape a better and safer future for our roads. I’m eager to build upon the progress Steve and his team have made thus far and bringing us closer to achieving our goal.”
