Jessica Melore

Biography

Named one of Glamour magazine`s Top 10 College Women of 2002, Jessica Melore has been known to leave her audiences inspired, uplifted, and profoundly moved.

By age 17, Ms. Melore had overcome more adversity than most experience in a lifetime. At age 16, she was the co-captain of her tennis team when she suffered a massive heart attack her senior year in high school. Within hours, the last rites were performed for her, as she was not expected to live through the night.

For nine months, Jessica Melore lived on a battery-operated mechanical assist device as she awaited a heart transplant. Additional complications included the amputation of her left leg above the knee and the fear that she could have suffered permanent brain damage due to lack of oxygen to her brain. She received her heart transplant and began her freshman year at Princeton University just three months later.

Ms. Melore`s challenges were far from over. In the year that followed, she faced life-threatening Non Hodgkin`s lymphoma and additional hurdles. Nevertheless, her reaction was not one of despair. Her steadfast conviction and perseverance led to achievements far beyond what many could have ever imagined. Instead of viewing her experiences as a tragedy, she began sharing her story with the masses, inspiring them with her universal message about the power and the strength of the human spirit.

Jessica Melore`s amazing story of courage and determination has been what Extra!called an "inspirational tale of survival that gives us all hope." Since 1998, she has spoken internationally for audiences of all ages and backgrounds, to crowds spanning 10 to 10,000 people. Audiences have included the National Association of Insurance and Financial Planners (NAIFA), Friends Health Connection, Prudential Financial, Facebook Headquarters, Meeting Professionals International (MPI), American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), and International Radio and TV Society (IRTS), to name a few.

Ms. Melore has appeared on Good Morning America, Dateline NBC, MTV, ABC`s Nightly News, NBC`s Nightly News with Chuck Scarborough, Extra!, Hardcopy, and Telemundo. She has also been published and featured in several online and print publications, including Woman`s Day, The Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, Huffington Post, AOL Health, USTA Magazine, Glamour, New York Post, In Motion, Bullett, National Geographic Explorer for Kids, and Cosmopolitan. Princeton University honored Jessica Melore with the Allen Macey Dulles Award for being the graduating senior who best represents Princeton`s motto, "Princeton in the Nation`s Service and in the Service of All Nations." She was named the YWCA`s "Woman of Inspiration" of 2002, which recognized her for overcoming adversity in her life and having profound impact on others and awarded the Spirit of Somerset Award in 2001 for outstanding youth leadership. As a community service award in her honor, the Somerville Education Association developed the "Jessica Melore Award." She later received the Triangle award from the New Jersey Transplant Association for "using the gift of life to make a dramatic impact in and outside the transplant community."