Melissa earned a BS from Michigan State University and a MS from Eastern Illinois University. After completion, Melissa worked as a Clinical Nutrition Manager at OrthoIndy, providing nutrition care for inpatients, working on quality initiatives, and supporting area hospitals through audits and training. Melissa relocated to Washington in 2017, working in outpatient nutrition counseling working for ATI Physical Therapy. There she helped clients with a range of nutrition-related needs including food allergies, weight management, blood sugar control, and heart-health measure improvements. Melissa currently works for UW Valley Medical Center in the role of Manager of Clinical Nutrition & Patient Services serving the southside of the Greater Seattle area. In this role she has collaborated with other disciplines to improve tighter glucose control for patients and presented to WSHA on outcomes, increased dietitian FTEs to better match increased complexity of patients, and improved patient tray delivery services by decreasing the number of late trays and increasing patient satisfaction. She has been awarded the Excellence in Management Practice by the Washington State Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics. Melissa is a member of the Quality Management Committee for the Academy and was elected President for the Washington State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.