A respected business and community leader, Melissa brings more than three decades of experience in marketing, partnership development, and civic engagement across South Florida. A Fort Lauderdale native, she is widely recognized for her longstanding commitment to strengthening the region through collaboration between business and nonprofit partners.

Prior to joining FLDCP, Melissa served for more than three decades as Senior Marketing Manager at Galleria Fort Lauderdale, Broward County’s premier shopping destination, where she championed major philanthropic initiatives, elevated community engagement, and helped build one of the region’s most recognizable commercial brands. Her background reflects a deep passion for relationship‑building, strategic communications, and impactful community involvement.

Melissa has served on numerous boards and committees, including the Transportation Management Association, Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale, Heart Gallery of Broward County, Arc Broward, and the Visit Lauderdale Marketing Advisory Committee. She chaired the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce Washington Summit in 2019 and later served as the Chamber’s 2022 Board Chair.

Her leadership and civic commitment have been recognized by organizations such as the Boys & Girls Clubs, March of Dimes, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, and the Heart Gallery of Broward County. Most recently, she was honored by Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale at its 25th annual Riverwalk Tribute. Among her signature achievements, Melissa helped lead some of South Florida’s most visible philanthropic campaigns, including the South Florida Ford Men of Style, which has raised more than $1 million for local family charities and nonprofits.

In her role as Executive Director of FLDCP, Melissa will work closely with the board, ambassadors, and membership to further the organization’s mission of fostering business growth, elevating design and construction industry insights, and building meaningful professional relationships. FLDCP remains committed to supporting charitable causes and strengthening the communities it serves—values that align closely with Melissa’s lifelong work and vision.

Hanna F. Khouri is an experienced design-build executive with over 25 years of leadership in delivering complex real estate, infrastructure, and mixed-use developments across the United States, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. His career centers on integrated design-build delivery, overseeing projects from master planning and design management through construction, cost control, and execution.

Mr. Khouri has led multidisciplinary teams on high-rise residential, hospitality, ports, energy, waterfront, and large-scale public works projects, frequently operating in challenging regulatory and site conditions. With a background in geotechnical engineering and Construction management, he is recognized for aligning design intent with constructability, optimizing schedules, and mitigating risk while enhancing long-term asset performance.

His global perspective and execution-focused leadership continue to advance best practices in design-build real estate delivery.

SOW DESIGN STUDIO was founded in 2008 by a group of Architects and Designers that collectively add over 30 years of experience in North America, South America and the Caribbean. The Firm’s goal will always be to provide high value services while cultivating ideas that have a positive impact on our surroundings. 

SOW Design Studio has designed a full spectrum of projects, from hospitality and institutional, to mixed-use commercial and multi-family residential, to single family homes and urban planning. In hospitality, SOW Design Studio has worked with most major hotel brands, and some of the most prestigious franchises in the market. 

With offices in North and South America, SOW Design Studio is able to provide a hands-on quality service for all of their clients by adapting and understanding the social and economic differences of each particular location in which each project is developed.

In addition to the founders Jose Lobo and Mauricio Villa, SOW’s team is comprised by a diverse group of international architects and designers. A deep passion for design is what inspires them. It is their rigorous work that drives them to exceed their client’s expectations, to improve the well-being around their projects, and to generate new experiences in the spaces they create.