Company & Culture

Meet Melissa, San Francisco to the Core

By Gretchen Dukowitz / September 14, 2015

Welcome to another post in our blog series that features the stories of our talented team members from around the world.

Melissa Olague, People Operations Associate
Melissa has been with AppDirect since August 2012.

Before we start, some people may not know what People Operations is; can you explain?

People Operations is...Human Resources 2.0! The name may not seem all that important, but People Operations makes more sense since it aligns more closely to our actual role at AppDirect. Referring to team members as people seems more natural than “resources.” People Ops provides support for our team members from onboarding, to driving team member engagement, to innovating around how we retain and train our talented team members, data integrity in our systems and process improvements, and more.

Very cool. Okay, so let’s talk about you—how did you find your role at AppDirect?

I came to an AppDirect open house after reading about the company in a Craigslist ad. It was a little odd, since there were folks from all over looking for a wide range of opportunities, and quite a few characters in the mix. Overall, though, it was also a really great experience because I could tell immediately that AppDirect was full of bright, passionate, creative, and hilarious people.

What’s one of your greatest passions?

As a native of San Francisco I’m passionate about... San Francisco! The city has changed a lot in the past few years. When I was growing up, for example, cabs would refuse to drive out to my house in the Sunset because it was considered a dead zone. Now, it’s full of fixies and trendy brunch spots!

While the city may have recently lost some of its diversity and affordable housing, I think SF is always in a state of constant flux, and there are still has so many quirky and lovable things about it. As much as I love to be nostalgic, I also can’t wait to see what happens here next.

Your roots are firmly planted in San Francisco, but where else have you traveled?

I’ve been to Thailand, Spain, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, Belize, Canada, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Hungary, Scotland, England, and Morocco.

Thailand was by far my favorite place; I ate spicy noodle soup and drank Thai iced tea every day. The islands near Phuket are unreal with their white sand beaches and picturesque cliffs. You just have to watch out for the fire jugglers.

Interested in joining our team? Visit our careers page to learn more.