Melissa Barton

Melissa Barton is the Founder of PalmBeachCounty.ai and one of South Florida's most recognized voices at the intersection of artificial intelligence, marketing operations, and community leadership. With more than two decades of executive experience, she brings a rare combination of strategic depth, technical fluency, and human-centered leadership to every engagement.

As an AI strategist, Melissa works with businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies across Florida to develop practical, governance-aligned AI adoption frameworks. She holds the Google AI Professional certification and the Anthropic AI Fluency certification — two of the most respected credentials in the field — and maintains an active research practice tracking developments in generative AI, AI governance, and workforce readiness.

Melissa's marketing operations career spans more than twenty years of leadership across CRM strategy, marketing automation, digital transformation, and brand communications. Her expertise in platforms including Salesforce, HubSpot, Blackbaud, and emerging AI-native tools positions her as a trusted advisor for organizations navigating the rapidly evolving marketing technology landscape.

Before founding PalmBeachCounty.ai, Melissa served as Senior Executive Director of Autism Speaks Palm Beach County, one of the nation's largest autism advocacy organizations. In that role, she led fundraising strategy, corporate partnership development, community awareness campaigns, and regional operations across South Florida.

Melissa is nationally recognized for her advocacy following the Alex Barton case — a 2008 incident in which her son, a child with autism, was subjected to a classroom vote by his kindergarten teacher. The case drew national media coverage from Fox & Friends, CBS News, NBC Miami, the ABA Journal, and dozens of regional and national outlets, and resulted in a $350,000 settlement. Her advocacy contributed to broader conversations about disability rights, teacher accountability, and IEP compliance in Florida's public school system.