Melissa is a faculty member in the School of Social and Community Services at George Brown College and has been practicing child and youth care work for over a 15 years. In her role as a Child and Youth Care Practitioner, she has worked with children, young people, families and communities in the education sector, youth justice, child welfare, children's mental health, outreach, advocacy and most recently in Child and Youth Care education. Melissa is committed to creating inclusive classrooms where emerging practitioners can explore all aspects of child and youth care through an equity lens. Melissa was one of the first child and youth workers in Canada to receive certification from the Child and Youth Care certification board. In 2018, Melissa received the excellence in teaching and learning award at George Brown. She has served on the board of directors for the OACYC and is a board member of the Child and Youth Care Educational Accreditation Board of Canada. She continues to volunteer with women who have experienced intimate partner violence and is currently leading a research project aimed strengthening child and youth care workers capacity for providing effective support to young people impacted by Human Trafficking.