Ozarks Profile: Melissa S. Scott

What is your job?

Principal and commercial interior designer of Design Agency and partner in Jericho Development Company, 333 S. Jefferson.

Tell us about your organization.

Scott and her husband Dan, who is an architect, started Design Agency in their home in 1993. "Last July we moved to our present location downtown and have enjoyed the eclectic qualities that only downtown can offer." Design Agency now has seven employees.

What is your educational background?

Scott received a bachelor of science in commercial interior design with a minor in art from Southwest Missouri State University in 1986. In 1990, she received national certification in commercial interior design from the National Council for Interior Design Qualification, and she is a member of the American Society of Interior Designers.

What jobs led you to your current one?

"After graduation, I immediately pursued a career with Broadstreets, a commercial interiors firm and furniture dealership. My specialty over the next 7 1/2 years was systems' furniture space. Two days after I was hired, the previous design staff left and I became the only designer on staff. I knew it was either sink or swim, so I was determined to succeed." Scott and her husband met while working on a project at Prime Inc. together when she was with Broadstreets. They started Design Agency together in 1993.

Name a few projects you are especially proud of.

"Evangel UniversityAcademic Building, Assemblies of God Theological Seminary and Design Agency's facility at the corner of Jefferson and Walnut."

Give us some personal information.

Scott is 37 and has lived in Springfield for 20 years. She's the fifth of seven children and has a twin sister named Melinda. She and Dan have two cats, Haley and Cadence; a dog, Pumpkin; and two goldfish, Porgy and Bess. "Last year, we were foster parents to siblings aged 2 1/2 years old and 4 years old. I worked part-time while we had them in our home. They were a joy and culture shock to me (I had never even changed a diaper before in my life)." In her spare time, Scott is an online investment trader and is in her ninth year singing with Messiah Project, a not-for-profit Christian performing arts group.

What is your favorite business lunch spot?

Mille's, which is next door to Design Agency.

Compiled by Melissa Wilson