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About Us

Our Team

The CAEL team draws great strength from its varied set of backgrounds and skills. But we hold one very important quality in common: dedicated expertise in forging the connections between learning and work that adult learners—and their communities—depend on for social mobility and economic equity.

MelissaKaye Shekoski

Vice President, Fund Development & Strategic Advancement

MelissaKaye Shekoski has extensive expertise in securing public and private investment dollars for innovative projects and initiatives centered on advancing communities that have often been disenfranchised from systems that help advance and ensure economic security. 

Shekoski joined CAEL in 2022 and plays a key role in the organization’s grant and governmental funding process and is responsible for planning and strategic alignment efforts related to fundraising, new program, and partnership designs. Passionate about ensuring that families can enjoy the promise of economic security through dignified career paths, Shekoski has significant experience in project implementation and partnership development around grant funding opportunities, particularly in the federal grants arena. Focused on developing strategically aligned cultures that value and nurture talent and cultivate innovative thinking, Shekoski has overseen numerous executive staff and board leadership transitions and searches.

Before CAEL, Shekoski served as Director of Fund Development, Communications, Planning, and Policy at WRTP | BIG STEP, a nationally recognized equity intermediary, and Director of Fund Development & Strategic Initiatives at Employ Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s largest public workforce board. She also has postsecondary education experience at Bryant & Stratton College, where she led relationship management projects with local business and community leaders to aid in placements for the institution’s graduates, oversaw local accreditation of programs, and served as the Operations Manager for the most diverse campus. Shekoski also worked for the Fund Development Corporation as a Consulting Associate on capital campaign planning and readiness, annual campaigns, board re-alignments, and organizational assessments. She began her career as a Legislative Assistant for Milwaukee County.

Shekoski holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 

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Areas of Expertise : MelissaKaye has extensive expertise in securing public and private investment dollars for innovative projects and initiatives centered on advancing communities that have often been disenfranchised from systems that help advance and ensure economic security. She also has experience in higher education operations, public workforce development and organizational capacity building.

Board Members

Advisory Council