Melanie Morrissey Clark recalled feeling vulnerable as her ex-boyfriend watched her through a window, waited in the parking lot, and threatened her at work for months.
“You are in danger,” a human resources manager warned the then-20-year-old woman.
Clark’s ex even brought a gun to her apartment. Luckily, her father intervened. The stalker received much-needed mental help, eventually moving out of Nebraska.
“I’ll never forget how scary that was,” Clark said.
The terrifying situation sparked a passion in Clark for domestic violence prevention. Her feminist mother had lit the flame for giving back at an early age, leading to Clark volunteering for over 27 years—sometimes as a board president—with countless nonprofit organizations like the Women’s Fund of Omaha, Girls Inc., and the Women’s Center for Advancement (formerly YWCA Omaha).
“I was raised to be strong and put women’s issues first,” Clark, 58, said.
While growing up in North Omaha, the Marian High School graduate saw her parents struggle and felt the drive to succeed. She is a first-generation college graduate. After earning a journalism degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, she started her career as an editor for Kidz Magazine until falling for Fred Clark while on a blind date. A year after tying the knot, the duo launched Clark Creative Group in 1992 with just $2,000 in their bank account. The marketing agency is now 13 employees strong and specializes in services such as branding, video production, and strategic planning.
The agency enables Clark to combine her two worlds of media and charity. She selects her causes with intention. Clark particularly cares about women’s equity, education, and advancement; and the need for available birth control, STD testing, cancer screenings, abortion, and infertility treatments. That last procedure remains especially poignant for the mother of triplets who utilized in vitro fertilization.
“Women should have choices and access to reproductive health care in order to have financial security, career advancement, and a healthy, happy life,” Clark said.
One organization aimed at improving, empowering, and advocating for gender equality—the Women’s Fund of Omaha—grew under Clark’s watchful eyes. She served on the board for 14 years, including being president for eight years, and started their publication Today’s Omaha Woman.
Today, Clark’s focus is on the Reproductive Health Collaborative Nebraska (formerly Nebraska Family Planning), which provides high-quality sexual and reproductive health care access to women in all areas of the state, including unbiased education. Scout Black, the organization’s manager of evaluation and learning, mentioned that Nebraskans face a unique challenge, especially in rural areas, since half the counties don’t have hospitals or birth centers offering obstetric care. As president, Clark used her professional skills and resources to help the organization. She and her company collaborated with Reproductive Health Collaborative Nebraska on the re-branding and website design of the organization. They also assisted with the rolling out of the launch.
Joanna Murray, executive director of the Reproductive Health Collaborative Nebraska, said, “She is continually committed to this community and is making a huge difference. We are grateful for her leadership.”
Clark tells those interested in volunteering to take it slowly and wade into the shallow end with smaller roles before diving into the deep as a board president. She met lifelong, like-minded friends through worthy causes.
“It widens your world. It broadens your world. It reminds you of what’s important,” Clark added.
She hopes the younger generation will take an interest in volunteering, inspiring daughter Sophie Clark to chair with her for the Friends of Planned Parenthood Moxie event. Sophie, an account executive at Clark Creative Group, can’t fathom the amount of work her mother put into various causes while raising triplets.
“I feel I am privileged to have the life I have and have the confidence as a woman,” Sophie, 27, said. “I owe it to my mom and to my community to continue her legacy. I’m her biggest fan.”
For more information about Reproductive Health Collaborative Nebraska, visit rhcnebraska.org.
This article originally appeared in the December 2024/January 2025 issue of B2B Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
