Melanie Talbot

Chief Governance Officer & Board Clerk
Valleywise Health Medical Center

Melanie Talbot has been the Clerk of the board for the Maricopa County Special Health Care District, d.b.a. Valleywise Health since it was created in 2004. The creation of the district, a political subdivision of the state of Arizona, means that it has to comply with open meeting law. The district is governed by a five-member elected board. Because the district had not existed prior to 2004, the Clerk role was built from the ground up.

As the Clerk, Melanie was instrumental in developing the practices and processes used to ensure the district was compliant with all statutorily and regulatory requirements necessary for the organization to operate. From creating agenda and meeting minutes templates, to developing and launching a board Web page to ensure transparency and be a source for electronic records for the public, Ms. Talbot provided more than just administrative support to the board.

Recognizing that, the board of directors promoted her to Chief Governance Officer in 2017. In this role, she continues to oversee the operations of the board support office. She also advises the board on good governance practices, briefs the board on key issues coming before them, and provides orientation and onboarding materials for newly elected board members. She acts as liaison between the board and management, while also guiding management on authority parameters.

As a member of the leadership team, she works closely with the district’s general counsel to ensure compliance with governing documents in addition to the open meeting law.