Melanie has spent her career in higher education. She has taught college courses in Speech Communication and Business since 2003 while also working in operations management. Melanie holds a Master’s of Arts in Communication Studies and a MBA in Management. As a professor she enjoys designing curriculum that includes coverage of cultural diversity, intercultural communication, and conflict communication. Melanie is an avid traveler and lover of the arts. She shares these passions with her two teenage children and husband. Her family has hosted yearlong exchange students from Bremen, Germany and Madrid, Spain. These relationships have continued and they consider both children members of their family. Melanie is active in her local Episcopalian church and works to promote voting as a volunteer deputy registrar.