Dr. Winesburg serves as the Director of Programs for the IJIS Institute supporting both business development and project implementation.  Ms. Winesburg provides technical assistance in the areas of law enforcement, NIBRS and criminal justice policy reform. Dr. Winesburg served as a Search Board of Directors, President of the Association of State Uniform Crime Reporting Programs, and as Vice Chair of the IJIS CJIS Advisory Committee. She currently serves as a member of the joint IACP/IJIS RMS Task Force.  She brings to IJIS an understanding of criminal justice from both the state government and private sector perspective, and her unique career experiences position her to provide expertise from the practitioner perspective.

Dr. Winesburg has more than 25 years of experience in law enforcement and criminal justice information systems.  She began her career by developing the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) Program and leading the implementation of a standardized records management system for local law enforcement in the State of Ohio.   Prior to joining Optimum Technology in 2014 as the Law Enforcement Practice Director, Dr. Winesburg was the founder and sole owner of MWA Enterprises. Working as a consultant throughout Ohio, she delivered subject matter expertise to criminal justice agencies for over 20 years.  She also counseled six Ohio Attorney General administrations and impacted subject matter areas such as AFIS, CCH, RISC, Court disposition deficiencies, statewide information sharing, and grants administration.

Dr. Melissa Winesburg, Ph.D., holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Wheeling Jesuit University and possesses both a Master’s of Science and a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Winesburg resides in Worthington, Ohio, with her daughters, Olivia and Danica, and her husband, Keith, who recently retired from Columbus Division of Police after 33 years of service. Dr. Winesburg also has four adult children and nine grandchildren. In her spare time, she spends time with her family, supporting their extracurricular activities such as football, track, softball, soccer, music, and the theatre.