Melissa Stone is the CEO of Cavalry Strategies, a company she founded in 2016 after serving as Chief of Staff for Florida Governor Rick Scott. She also served as a senior advisor for the New Republican Super PAC supporting Governor Rick Scott in his 2018 race for U.S. Senate, as well as the General Consultant for CFO Patronis during his 2018 winning election and his most recent landslide reelection victory in 2022.

Melissa also served as the Campaign Manager for Governor Scott’s reelection campaign in 2014, which was won by less than one percentage point. She was Communications Director in the Governor’s Office before that. Previously, Melissa was the Director of Regional Media for the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, and a former Communications Director for Governor Bobby Jindal in Louisiana during his first term in office (2008-2011) after serving as the communications director for his 2007 campaign for Governor of Louisiana.

Before that, Melissa served as a Regional Media Coordinator for the Bush-Cheney 2004 presidential campaign, Press Secretary for Congressman Jim Nussle (IA) in 2005, and Press Secretary for Michael Steele for U.S. Senate in Maryland in 2006.

Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Melissa to be a Commissioner on the Florida Commission on the Status of Women in 2022. She is a native of Texas and received her Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. She lives in Tallahassee, Florida with her husband and two sons.