Melissa built her massage therapy career on the foundation of a bachelors in social work and brief career as a crisis counselor and case worker.  Melissa returned to school and earned her Certificate in Therapeutic Massage from the Phoenix Therapeutic Massage College (PTMC) in 1997. 

Melissa practiced in the Phoenix area for 6 years, in Sacramento for 10 years and has been in Washington, DC since 2012.  

In 2003, Melissa joined AMTA and began a journey that introduced her to many digital platforms and allowed her to engage with AMTA members in the Sacramento area, statewide in California and eventually nationwide among AMTA chapter leaders. 

It was in 2013 that Melissa deliberately BUILT her business with the guidance of Her Corner, a women owned business development program and community.  

That is when she began using an Iphone (RIP Blackberry), online booking (FullSlate), social media (Yelp, FaceBook), eblasts (Mail Chimp), a priority matrix, and tapped into her digital network in earnest to build her practice.   It took under a year to build the practice to the level that she was consistently ‘as busy as she wants to be”.   She uses these tools to maintain her business through seasonal ebbs and flows and the occasional pandemic.

Melissa has most recently affiliated with ClinicSense and collaborated with Healing Arts Business Academy, building a larger community and accumulating more resources to help massage therapists thrive.