Melissa grew up in northern Rhode Island, went to college at Unity College in Maine and got her Bachelors of Science in Outdoor Recreation in 1990. She has worked as a naturalist since graduating, starting out at residential environmental education centers in Rhode Island, New York, and California; then working for the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection running a teacher training program for 6 years, then at the Calgary Zoo in Alberta, Canada for 2 years, then as the Program Director at Friends of Creamer’s Field for 4 years. She now works at the Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District as the Natural Resource Education Specialist and has been there for 5 years.