Distinguished Alumna Award honors an alumna who has distinguished herself for outstanding achievements in her chosen profession and has made a lasting contribution in her field as a role model and leader for all alumnae.
Alumna Profile: This year’s Distinguished Alumna Award Winner, Melissa Petrangelo Scaia, of the Class of 1996, has more than two decades of leadership, practice experience, policy development and international training. She is widely recognized as an expert in the field of domestic violence intervention and systems change.
Her years at CSB were transformative – expanding her worldview, grounding her in social justice and shaping the values that continue to guide her work.
Melissa spent 15 years as executive director of Advocates for Family Peace. Under her leadership, the organization established a supervised visitation center – creating a safe, structured environment where children could maintain safe relationships with abusive parents.
Melissa later served as executive director of the Domestic Abuse Intervention Program – home of the Duluth Model, a globally recognized framework for addressing domestic violence. During her tenure, the Duluth Model received the 2014 Future Policy Award for Ending Violence Against Women and Girls from the United Nations.
In 2012, she represented the United States at a UN conference in Kazakhstan and began extensive international training work. Through Global Rights for Women, UN Women and her own consulting efforts, Melissa has trained law enforcement, prosecutors, probation officers and judicial leaders around the world.
Throughout her career, Melissa has remained connected to CSB, hiring Bennies, mentoring students and maintaining relationships with faculty. Her work embodies the Benedictine commitments to social justice, human dignity and the common good – values that were formed during her time on campus and continue to shape her life’s mission.