4word Executive Director, Melissa Harrison, reflects on her first seven months in her role, celebrating the powerful stories of the women whose lives have been transformed through 4word’s mission. These stories, shared during 4word Giving Week (you can watch them all here!), highlight how deeply 4word’s vision impacts women—empowering them to fulfill their God-given potential in their workplace, community, and family. As 4word looks ahead to future events, including new Community Groups and the 2025 Gala, it’s clear that these stories are just the beginning. The ripple effect of women empowered by faith is truly changing the world.

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You can listen to this conversation with Melissa on our podcast, Work, Love, Pray! Listen below or click here to find your preferred listening platform.

What are some high points from your first seven months as 4word’s Executive Director?

It’s been amazing! Incredibly busy but just so much fun to see the ways that the Lord is moving through 4word. I know He’s been at work in this organization since Diane founded it, and this role is such an incredible honor for me to step into. Accepting the baton that Diane has so diligently carried has been such a humbling experience and I get the sense that we are just scratching the surface of what God is going to do.

We celebrated 4word Giving Week last week and a major part of the celebration was sharing stories from 4word women we’ve been able to impact. What were you hoping would be the takeaway from those stories?

Anytime that we’re sharing about the mission and vision of 4word, it’s key to show the impact of what we accomplish through that mission and vision. The 4word team gets to interact with our community regularly, so we know that the impact is great. Showcasing these stories helps us show the entire 4word community—podcast listeners, donors, Community Group members, mentors and mentees, our executive women—the incredible impact being made through 4word and help everyone see that a gift to 4word is changing women’s lives.

When you change a woman’s life, you literally change the world, because that woman directly impacts her community, her workplace, her family, and that ripple effect of her being able to fulfill and live out and reach her God given potential with confidence in the workplace is just mind-blowing.

What stood out to you as you were helping record these stories?

The women of 4word are so committed and loyal and passionate about the mission and vision of 4word. It’s so rare to find volunteers who are really willing to give so much of their time, effort, and energy. What blew me away most during these recordings was getting to see the range of history all of these women represented. Some of them have been connected with 4word for years, while others have only recently joined our community. But each of them equally aligns with and supports what 4word is called to do for Christian women in the workplace. The women we interviewed know they’re not alone in facing the challenges before them as they strive to reach their workplace and impact it for good. They understand that they have a team of women—a sisterhood, their tribe—that’s with them every step of the way. Such an incredible testament to God’s hand on 4word!

What are you excited for in the coming months at 4word?

We have some exciting things coming soon, which I can’t share all the details of yet, but I will just say that you’re not going to want to miss it. God is moving so miraculously and just so powerfully. We’re going to be at the Boldly Conference in October, which is hosted by the Polish Network which is another workplace ministry that serves women in the workplace. We have new Community Groups starting in the coming weeks in new cities around the country. If you live near Charlotte, Tampa, Atlanta, Nashville, San Francisco, Northern Virginia, or Bergen County, New Jersey, 4word is coming to your city soon!

The 4word team is also really excited about the 2025 4word Gala. I’m especially excited because we’re reimagining the event a bit and our goal is to really highlight, again, the stories of the women of 4word and really focus on how together, we can impact women in the workplace around the world.

I can’t wait to see how God is going to move in the next few months. I know He’s moving and it’s all thanks to Diane Paddison for hearing God’s calling in her life to found 4word. Diane’s leadership has helped to both birth and sustain this organization for the past 12 years. She has brought in an incredible board of directors and advisory board, and I’m continually impressed by their commitment and their support and encouragement. It means everything to me as a new leader to have that built-in support and I’m just so grateful to them and grateful to Diane for trusting me and passing on that baton. I’m sure that, after founding an organization, it’s not easy to pass its leadership to someone else, but she is doing it with such grace and I’m really grateful to her for doing that as we move into this new season at 4word.

Melissa Harrison is a bilingual journalist with more than 20 years of experience in television and radio news. She has worked as a news anchor and reporter in six different television markets including WNBC in New York City and WFAA-TV in Dallas/Fort Worth. Melissa has also worked as a writer for ABC’s World News Tonight and as a morning news anchor for CBS Radio. 

Melissa founded PURE in New York City in 2004 where she served Christian women leaders through events and retreats until 2016. She also served women executives at the C-Suite level through the CEO Forum from 2021 until 2023.

Melissa is currently an Executive in Residence at SMU where she teaches Digital Media. She earned her master’s in Journalism from Columbia University and her bachelor’s in Spanish and Communications from Baylor. She also studied with Syracuse University at the Instituto Internacional in Madrid, Spain. Melissa speaks frequently at conferences and industry events across the globe including recently in Chile, Indonesia and The Philippines.

Melissa and her husband live in Dallas with their three young children.