Melissa received her B.A. (1995, major in Music, minor in Theology with a semester based in Jerusalem) and her M.A. (1998, focusing on intercultural communication and contextualization of theology) from Wheaton College.

Between 1999 and 2008, Melissa lived in Bangladesh where she trained Bangladeshi women in leadership skills, acted as a language and culture acquisition advisor for a consortium of NGOs, authored and compiled a language course in Bengali, mentored expatriates in multi-cultural team dynamics and cross-cultural acclimation, and was invited to speak/lead international, multicultural events for Christian audiences. Through the auspices of the University of Rajshahi (Bangladesh) and Fuller Graduate School of Intercultural Studies (U.S.), Melissa also conducted ethnographic research on Islamic family law and marriage arrangement patterns in Bangladesh

Other work and research experience includes participation in an annual international seminar on Muslim-Christian relations (Fuller Theological Seminary, 2003-2007) and serving as Postgraduate Worker in the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (University of Edinburgh, 2006-2007.

She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, specializing in Muslim-Christian relations, for which she is researching the relationship of the 1st century church to Roman and Jewish family law as a model for 21st-century Christians living in societies governed by Islamic family law.

In addition to her work in Bangladesh and the U.K., Melissa has enjoyed traveling with her husband of twelve years, visiting countries throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. Some of the most memorable events in Melissa’s life have included living for one year with a Mexican family in Fresnillo, Zacatecas (1993-1994), living for one year with a Muslim Bengali family in Kushtia, Bangladesh (2000), sharing close quarters with 20 other female students of the University of Rajshahi while conducting ethnographic research in Dinajpur (2001), and growing from her relationships with colleagues from all corners of the U.S., as well as from Canada, Brazil, Sweden, Bangladesh, Scotland, Syria, England, Jordan, Mexico, India, Australia, the Solomon Islands, and Pakistan.

Melissa edits and prepares Center material for publication while continuing research on matters related to Islamic family law in South Asia. Melissa joined the Reconciliation Program during the summer of 2008, assisting in the hosting of Yale’s Common Word Conference.