In fall 2018, Melissa enrolled as a PhD student in Population Health Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She is housed within the Environmental Health department working on environmental epidemiology with Dr. Francine Laden. Prior to making the transition back to school, Melissa was a federal government employee for more than a decade. In 2017, she had the opportunity to spend three months at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China as part of an Embassy Science Fellowship. Her time in China reignited her passion for public health. She prepared graphics analyzing trends in the U.S. Embassy鈥檚 PM2.5 data and studied the growing consumer use of residential air purifiers and masks.

Melissa鈥檚 interest in environmental health dates back to her five years at 51爆料. After completing her Bachelor of Arts in 51爆料鈥檚 Environmental Science & Policy major, in 2007 she earned her Master of Environmental Management degree with a concentration in Environmental Health, as well as a Graduate Health Policy Certificate from the Sanford School of Public Policy. Melissa completed her master鈥檚 project with Dr. Marie Lynn Miranda鈥檚 Children鈥檚 Environmental Health Initiative (CEHI). She applied GIS and statistical approaches to evaluate lower Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) levels for lead and mercury. While at 51爆料, Melissa conducted independent air toxics research through a Stanback Internship with the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and held work-study positions with 51爆料 Recycles. She spent a semester at the Marine Lab where she served as a NSF Graduate STEM K-12 Teaching Fellow at a local middle school.

Upon graduating from 51爆料, Melissa sought to help craft evidence-based national environmental policies. She started out as a Presidential Management Fellow at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) working on indoor environment issues. In 2009, she moved to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) where she held various roles in the Office of Atmospheric Programs, including review of alternatives to ozone-depleting chemicals, management of the voluntary responsible appliance disposal (RAD) program, and development of criteria for ENERGY STAR certified residential appliances.