Melanie Mel

Melanie (Mel) Strong is a Founding Partner at NEXT VENTŪRES where she invests in Seed to Series B stage startups across Sports, Fitness, Health, Wellness, Health Care, Home Health Care, and Consumer Software. She's operating a $60M fund raised in September 2025 and invests in companies across the United States, Canada, England, and Switzerland. She serves on the boards of Sage Hospitality Group, the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact at the University of Oregon (advisory), Cofertility (observer), and Ramble (observer), and has invested in companies like Cofertility, Pair Team, Juno Medical, OK Capsule, and Momentous. Before NEXT VENTŪRES, she was Interim Chief Marketing Officer at ŌURA and spent 17 years at Nike; she has also served as a Board Director at OK Capsule, Honey Stinger, and Momentous. Melanie holds a B.S. in Education and Biology from Drexel University and an M.A. in Journalism and Public Affairs from American University, and lives in Hood River, Oregon.