From fighting food insecurity and improving childhood literacy to creating new opportunities for Tahoe’s next generation of entrepreneurs, the Marcella Foundation is tackling some big community needs with an ambitious local approach.

On this episode of Tahoe TAP, hosts Mike Peron and Rob Galloway sit down with Melissa Uppendahl, founding Executive Director of the Marcella Foundation, to talk about the organization’s growing impact across the region and the projects it has on the horizon.

Since helping launch the Foundation, Uppendahl has been instrumental in developing programs centered on food security, literacy, mentorship and youth opportunity. That includes FeedTahoe, which works to address hunger in the community; the countywide expansion of the Imagination Library, providing books to young children; and the Fannan Fellowship, designed to support and inspire emerging leaders and entrepreneurs.

Now, another major project is taking shape: [http://.https//atriummarcellafoundation.org]The Atrium, an innovative makerspace being developed to give community members a place to create, collaborate, learn new skills and turn ideas into reality.

Uppendahl’s path to nonprofit leadership includes founding Lift Literature and working in the financial management of environmental restoration projects throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from St. Mary’s College and a Master of Public Administration from CSU Chico.

A mother of three boys, Uppendahl has built her work around a belief in big ideas — and, more importantly, creating the partnerships and infrastructure needed to make them happen.

In this episode, Tahoe TAP explores the Marcella Foundation’s expanding role in the community, the challenges of addressing hunger and literacy at the local level, and the vision behind The Atrium as it prepares to become a new hub for creativity, education and entrepreneurship.