Melissa Ortiz is a Salinas, CA-grown artist, educator, and interdisciplinary designer whose work is driven by a deep impulse for connection—between people, land, and material culture. Rooted in an agricultural region, she explores the intersections of art, design, and science to foster sustainable, community-driven practices. Her earliest memories of crafting piñatas with her mother continue to shape her belief that making is a powerful way to belong, learn, and reimagine the world around us.
With two decades of experience teaching and facilitating learning in formal and informal environments, Melissa has seen firsthand how hands-on learning, play, and curiosity cultivate more profound engagement with ecological and social issues. These principles guide her teaching and material explorations, where process and craft become ways of slowing down and understanding our relationship to the land.
Melissa earned an MFA in Industrial Design from California College of the Arts in San Francisco, where she deepened her focus on material culture and regenerative design. Her work explores how agricultural waste can be transformed into functional, biodegradable materials, aligning with circular design principles. She is also a former board member of Xinampa, a nonprofit supporting community-driven science and environmental initiatives in Salinas.
Publications & Exhibitions:
Pioneering Biomaterials: Academia & Industry Convergence, Exhibition, 2025.
MFA Design Showcase, CCA, 2024.
Biodesign Challenge, Alumni Voices, 2023.
AWARDS & SCHOLARSHIPS:
William & Alice Hinckley Scholarship, 2024.
LoveFrom Scholarship, CCA, 2023-2024.
Biodesign Challenge, Winner Outstanding Social Critique, 2023.
Bright Futures, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, 2021.
Bernard Osher Scholarship, CCA, 2021.
All College Honors, CCA, 2021.
Merit Scholarship, CCA, 2020-2023.
BAVC (Bay Area Video Coalition) graphic design track Scholarship, San Francisco, 2014.
Honors Art Department - UCSB, Santa Barbara, 2009.
Finkel Award - UCSB, Santa Barbara, 2008.
Dole Scholarship - UCSB, Santa Barbara, 2007.
Art Summer Program Scholarship - CalArts, Valencia, CA, 2003.