Women To Watch 10.12.25 - Flipbook - Page 24
25 WOMEN TO WATCH
Melissa Davis
40, VP of people & organizational development,
Media Works Ltd.
When Melissa Davis started at Towson University, she thought she wanted
to major in history. Then she took an introductory sociology course.
“I loved it,” she said. “I loved everything about it — the professor was amazing, and it really made me realize that I want to learn about how people think
and why they do what they do.”
That course spurred Davis, who acknowledges that she has “always and
forever” been fascinated by people, to pursue undergraduate degrees in
anthropology, sociology and psychology before working her way up to human
resources-focused roles.
After the coronavirus pandemic, when her two children were back in
school, Davis found an HR position at Media Works, a Baltimore-based
and woman-owned advertising firm that surrounds her with “the smartest
women I’ve ever met in my life.”
Davis, who will become the agency’s president in January, is proud of the
relationships she’s built and being able to serve as a sounding board for her
colleagues when they need it.
“It’s always important to listen to the quietest person in the room,” she said.
“I’ve always noticed that people who are selective about the things that they
say tend to have a lot more impact when they say them.”
— Natalie Jones
KARL MERTON FERRON/STAFF
Ashley Valis
43, chief operating officer, Catholic Charities
KIM HAIRSTON/STAFF
24 | 2025 | WOMEN TO WATCH
Ever since she was a girl growing up under the watchful eye of the nuns
at St. Dominic School in Northeast Baltimore, Ashley Valis has had a heart
for human services.
The sisters at the now-closed Catholic school, like her parents, taught Valis
the importance of helping the most vulnerable. She did so with hammer and
nails as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, managed outreach efforts for
former Gov. Martin O’Malley, and as an official at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, operated a community outreach center in an underserved
West Baltimore.
Now Valis, a married mother of three, has one of the highest-profile service
positions in the state. As chief operating officer for Maryland’s largest provider
of human services, Catholic Charities, since 2022, she oversees 80 programs
with a collective budget of more than $140 million, managing the Esperanza
Center, Our Daily Bread, the Safe Streets anti-violence program, the Weinberg
Housing and Resource Center and more.
“I think it comes down to [seeking] equal care for all people,” she says in
a calm yet cheerful voice. “Sometimes I think that gets a little lost in today’s
world.”
—Jonathan M. Pitts
