About MELISSA
Pigs Fly
I can sum up my career in three words: Never say never. I’ve learned things I never thought I’d learn, done things I never thought I'd do, and met people I never thought I’d meet. I am nothing but grateful.
Melissa Jordan Grey is an entrepreneur, creative leader, playwright, and philanthropist whose career has unfolded at the intersection of technology, storytelling, and social impact. A serial entrepreneur and former Microsoft executive, she has spent decades building businesses, developing creative technologies, and championing new ideas.
Equally passionate about the arts, she writes and produces original theatre, serves on nonprofit boards, and supports organizations that expand opportunities for artists and underserved communities. Whether building a business, bringing a story to the stage, or advancing a cause, Grey is driven by a common conviction: that creativity, collaboration, and a willingness to challenge convention can make remarkable things possible.
Rainmaker
Melissa has spent much of her career turning ambitious ideas into successful businesses, often at the intersection of technology, music, and media. A Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of Indiana University and an International Radio and Television Society (IRTS) Fellow, she left USC's graduate program in cinema-television to co-found The Blue Ribbon SoundWorks, a pioneering music technology company.
The Blue Ribbon SoundWorks doubled its revenue and profits five years in a row. Its AudioActive interactive music engine won Best of COMDEX and was subsequently acquired by Microsoft.
At Microsoft, Melissa held leadership roles spanning business development, creative direction, marketing, and product design. Her team's Interactive Music Architecture became part of PowerPoint, MSN, Internet Explorer, and Windows through DirectX. Never one to shy away from an experiment, she created Rifff, an online interactive music experience featuring artists including B.B. King, Cyndi Lauper, and Sir Mix-a-Lot. She later worked in Microsoft's digital media division, exploring new ways to personalize and connect digital entertainment experiences.
After Microsoft, Melissa founded BrandAcuity, which evolved into Mindsight, LLC, helping emerging technology companies build their marketing and business development capabilities. Her clients included MixMeister, subsequently acquired by Numark/InMusic, and Beamz, a laser-based interactive music device promoted by Flo Rida.
Together with her husband, Todor Fay, Melissa co-founded NewBlue, Inc., a San Diego-based company developing innovative video and broadcast graphics technologies. Under their leadership, NewBlue has built partnerships with industry leaders including Adobe, Sony, Avid, and Telestream. Today, Melissa serves as NewBlue's Executive Chair and Chief Creative Officer, continuing to bring her entrepreneurial perspective to the evolving world of visual storytelling.
Creator
A seasoned creative director, artist, playwright, author, filmmaker & songwriter, Melissa has performed on stage as a jazz saxophonist, standup comic, musical improviser, actor, and cabaret performer. As a teen, she played jazz saxophone for weddings, local clubs, and theatrical productions. During that time, she also worked as a session player in local studios.
Grey composed the multimedia score for the City of Atlanta's Olympic bid and recorded musical parodies performed on KIIS-FM’s “Make it or Break it”. Today, her work can be found on San Diego stages, major digital audio streams, and Areasonica Records.
More recently, Melissa’s forged a new path as an award-winning playwright and author. You’ll find her memoir pieces featured on Zibby Owens’ Substack, as well as four editions of Shaking the Tree, edited by Marni Freedman and Tracy J. Jones. She’s won the International Memoir Writers Associations Memoir Showcase competition twice, in ‘22 and ‘23. Her pieces Trial and Error and A Walk in the Park were heard at the San Diego Writers Festival in ‘24 and ‘25.
Most recently, she her plays have received recognition in a variety of play festivals including the SacTown Play Festival, Trinity Theatre New Works Festival and Safe Harbor Play Festival, including “Best Play”. Grey is also the co-founder of San Diego’s What Next? Collective, a season group of playwrights, actors and directors who aim to amplify the untold stories of women.
Changemaker
Grey believes that success carries with it both the opportunity and the responsibility to create opportunities for others. Throughout her career, she has applied her experience in entrepreneurship, strategic planning, communications, and organizational leadership to causes she cares deeply about, particularly the arts, education, and the advancement of women and underserved communities.
Passionate about empowering girls, Melissa launched WOW in 2013, which has since grown into a national STEM-based organization focused on engaging girls in FIRST Robotics. She has served on the Board of the International Radio and Television Society (IRTS) Foundation and the Board of the San Diego Performing Arts League. In 2023, she co-founded The WhatNext? Collective, creating opportunities for women playwrights, actors, and directors to bring their work to the stage.
Melissa has also been actively involved in her local community, supporting first-generation access to higher education and addressing homelessness and food insecurity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she regularly delivered food to seniors and families in need through Project-19, an experience she chronicled in her writing.
For Grey, philanthropy is about more than financial contributions. It's about bringing together people, ideas, and resources to help worthwhile organizations thrive. She finds particular fulfillment in mentoring emerging entrepreneurs, young women, and creative professionals, helping them discover opportunities they might not otherwise have imagined.
Melissa and her husband reside in La Jolla, California, and are proud parents to two young adults who recently graduated with their BS/MS from Stanford University and are now out there fully adulting as best as anyone can in 2026. :) One of her great joys is mentoring young women and entrepreneurs, which she currently does as part of her professional practice as well as on a volunteer basis.