Mel Brennan has led women and men for thirty-four years; from confidential investigation to FIFA World Cup execution to university teaching to municipal recreation/camps leadership to for-profit location-based entertainment, court compliance, and fifteen years in the C-Suite of local and global nonprofits, Mel brings local-to-global experience from across multiple business sectors to bear in the forging of insights and solutions.

Mel is a 1996 graduate of Western Maryland College and began his professional career with The City of New York as a Confidential Investigator with the Civilian Complaint Review Board, then spent time in general management for for-profit endeavors like Sega GameWorks, WWFE and the Walt Disney Company, where he focused of games, attractions, and restaurant development.

A transition to global sport governance saw Mel lead teams, students and project development at FIFA, CONCACAF, and the University of Stirling (Scotland, UK). Mel returned to the USA in 2005 to teach at Towson University and curate the first TEDTalk in Baltimore City, TEDxBaltimore. While abroad Mel pursued a PhD (ABD) focusing on sport and human rights while attending and teaching at the University of Stirling.

Mel remains a global thought leader on sport governance, corruption, transparency solutions and protections for the most vulnerable, with specials on Netflix and BBC Panorama, German public television, and Sky Sports News, as well as radio interviews with outlets from NPR to Australian and Canadian public radio. He is the co-author of Sport, Revolution and the Beijing Olympics, with Grant Jarvie and Tony Hwang, and is currently finishing Fixing Football (or Saving Soccer), about the work of forging great sport governance as the FIFA World Cup approaches our shores in 2026.

Mel served as CEO of the Fuel Fund of Maryland, CEO of United Way of Southern Maryland, VP of the Y in Central Maryland and statewide VP of the Maryland Food Bank, among other nonprofit leadership roles. Mel serves today as the Director of Energy Programs for Civic Works, and leads Permanent Platform and SAVE Sport as Founder and Trustee. Mel enjoys fellowshipping with family and friends, art, travel, PC gaming, “spinnovating” (spinning up transformative projects that change lives), and watching his favorite soccer clubs; most importantly, Mel lives and loves at home in Westminster with his wife Laurel, three children, and one rescued dog; his favorite motto was handed to him by his father: “everything – every single thing – educates; are you student enough to listen and learn?”