Melissa Hargiss is a Director at Audacious Inquiry with an extensive background in health IT adoption and policy at both the state and national levels. Melissa previously worked for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), within the Department of Health and Human Services, as a Senior Policy Analyst. In this capacity, she served as the lead policy representative for all states, while also directly overseeing four Statewide Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement grantees. Additionally, Melissa was the ONC liaison for the National Governors Association and she also led the ONC Community of Practice focusing on the Transition in Government Officials.

Prior to that, Melissa was the Health IT Coordinator for the State of Tennessee – a governor-appointed position where she was responsible for the alignment of statewide stakeholders and the development and implementation of a statewide strategic plan in accordance with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009, HITECH Act.

Melissa also has a legal background, having practiced law in both California and Tennessee.