Mel Oliver

Founding Director

Melissa Oliver, CCP, EMT is the Founding Director of Isla Medical Foundation and a Cardiovascular Perfusionist at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. She is also the founder of Reel Medical Consulting, where she is the lead consultant for television and movies.

Mel received a degree in Circulation Technology from the School of Allied Medicine at The Ohio State University and recently finished the EMT program at the UCLA School of Pre-Hospital Care.

She found her passion for non-profit work in 2007 when volunteering for her first pediatric cardiac surgical mission in Guayaquil, Ecuador, with Mending Kids. Since then, she has become an active leader there and with other organizations, including CardioStart International, Surfer’s Medical Association, Waves for Water, and Life Rolls On.

In addition to volunteer work, Mel’s hobbies include surfing, volleyball, and traveling. In 2017, these hobbies motivated her to visit family and take a surf trip to the Philippines. She and her friends visited Siargao Island, and she loved it so much that she started visiting there annually. During these trips, she was inspired to use her skills and affinity for volunteering to collaborate with like-minded people to form Isla Medical Foundation.