Melissa is a creative professional who hovers at the intersection of design, technology, data, urbanism, and visualization.

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She began her professional practice upon completion of a 5-year Bachelors of Architecture with a Minor in Studio Art. Over the next six years she worked on architectural designs big and small, in a range of practice types, in a variety of locations including Detroit, Brooklyn, and Nashville. She also practiced as a furniture designer and maker and as a fellow at two urban-minded non-profits.

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Returning to academia, Melissa attained a Master of Architecture in Urban Design, with Distinction, from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She was awarded the prestigious Druker Travelling Fellowship for her research topic Riding the Rails, an inquiry into the urban implications of the railroad through out history.

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Melissa then spent another ten years teaching visual communication and practicing urban design, slowly stepping away from roles as a designer to focus on analytics and visualization for large, complex master plans. She formalized her interest in data visualization with a second Masters degree in Data Analytics and Visualization from the Maryland Institute College of Art.

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Melissa is currently living in Seattle where she is an alumna of the Seattle Design Review Board and a current member of the advisory board for the Data Visualization program at UW Professional and Continuing Education. In her free time she enjoys home renovation projects, personal data art initiatives, and shared Sunday crosswords. She is a firm believer in cocktails, commas (the oxford variety), and collages.