She has worked with non-profit arts organizations such as the Leeway Foundation and the Mt. Airy Arts Garage, both of whom encourage art at the intersection of social justice and have led her to participation with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, POST (Philadelphia Open Studio Tours), Sister Cities Girlchoir, and more. An arts administrator and adjunct professor at a local University, Melissa considers herself to be a literary nerd passionate about creative pedagogy, open dialogue, comics in the classroom, gardening, queer resistance, and community enhancement. Currently, she lives in Mt. Airy where she watches the birds with her fabulous lover, Michelle, and their feline child, Poka Dot Nakamora.