Melanie has worked at the Akonadi Foundation since she graduated from UC Berkeley in 2004, where she received a B.A. in Ethnic Studies. Melanie began as Executive Assistant to President Quinn Delaney. Her interest in and talent for the foundation's programmatic and grantmaking work quickly led to a promotion to Program Associate in 2005. In that role, Melanie assists in the collaborative development and implementation of Akonadi’s grantmaking programs, operations and long-term strategy.

Melanie is also active in many community-based projects outside of her work at the Akonadi Foundation. She is a member of the Taller Tupac Amaru an artist-activist group dedicated to the production and public distribution of political posters. Currently, she serves on the board of Youth Together, which addresses the root causes of educational inequities by developing multiracial youth organizers and engaging school community allies to promote positive school change. She is very interested in the role young people and culture play in the building of social justice movements.