Melissa Lackey has been a registered nurse since 1994, and joined the A&M Rural and Community Health Institute in 2018. She currently serves as a Project Specialist in the Center for Optimizing Rural Health. She holds a Master of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Texas at Arlington. Melissa has over 25 years of healthcare experience that includes women’s health services, pediatrics, behavioral health, and population and rural health. She works collaboratively with rural hospitals to address the challenges unique to small hospitals and the towns they serve. Melissa is also active in several other ARCHI programs that support quality and performance improvement, and is a member of the KSTAR Communication Team.