With the ethics of of a trained professional, the compassion of a counselor and the imagination of a world-class peacebuilder, Kinzler has helped individuals and companies craft viable agreements, uncover creative solutions and move forward with soluiuons for nearly three decades . Kinzler first made a name for herself as a San Francisco executive, negotiating advertising agreements with Silicon Valley elite in the early 1990s.

In the late 1990's Kinzler transitioned to commercial finance, developing agreements with finance titans Wells Fargo, US Bank, Citizens Bank and BankOne, helping Community Bank Presidents expand their commercial lending divisions. Eventually Kinzler served as an Interim VP of a private Philadelphia firm before moving on to spearhead Southern Arizona Merchant Services. In Arizona, Kinzler regionally represented First Data Inc, parent corporation of VISA, where she negotiated legal and financial agreements with over 200 business owners in the state. 

In 2009, Kinzler moved from behind the desk in corporate finance to large scale disaster response plans (DRPs) and contract negotiations  via her compelling work in Emergency Response and Restoration. Kinzler won project agreements in the $1-3M range and traveled internationally, training other company owners how to do the same. 

Kinzler's sincere approach to client satisfaction propelled her to the top of her industry. Kinzler worked well under pressure  is a pro in the face of heavy competition. During her work in Disaster Response, Kinzler teamed with strategic partners such as The American Red Cross, Banner Healthcare, Police, Fire and Sheriff's Dept as well as US Border Patrol and Homeland Security. Kinzler enjoyed working with these partners for fire, flood, crime scene and natural disaster response. 

Kinzler eventually parlayed her relationships into commercial real estate contract negotiations in Arizona before returning to her home state of California to pursue her graduate work. In 2017 Kinzler captured her Psychology Degree from Cal-poly and launched a series of timely international workshops during the COVID years, addressing Mental Health and Conflict Resolution.

Next, Kinzler embarked on her Masters Degree in Conflict Resolution, Negotiation and Peacebuilding from California State University-Dominguez Hills in 2021, studying and training with some of the nations top conflict resolution experts. Kinzler has studied with a US Ambassador to address current and important International Conflict Resolutions around the world and went on to enroll in the Harvard School of Law, Program of Negotiation in 2022. 

Kinzler has been trained by the Dept of Justice (DOJ) in Community Mediation techniques. Today, Kinzler works as an Alternative Dispute Resolution Practitioner in San Diego County, California. She is a member of the San Diego County Bar Association, serves on the ADR + Mediation Committee for the American Bar Association and serves on the Commercial, Court, and EEP sectors of the Association for Conflict Resolution. Kinzler completed her DRPA Certification in 2022, with her MC3 certification soon to follow. 

In her spare time, Kinzler (a cookbook author and hiking enthusiast) can often be found sailing the sea with her significant other or kayaking the breathtaking waterways of the California Coast. 

Melissa Kinzler

 Skills

Alternative Dispute Resolution
Negotiations
Mediations
Conflict Resolution
Mergers and Acquisitions
Peacebuilding
Facilitation

Paying It Forward

Melissa volunteers her professional skills to associations and non-profits in her community.