Hi, I’m Melissa!
Storytelling is my passion. I have been a TV news anchor and reporter for over 20 years at television and radio stations around the country including at WNBC-TV in New York City and WFAA-TV and CBS Radio in Dallas.
While I am most passionate about telling other people’s stories, I never imagined that I would one day find myself on ‘the other side’ of a headline until I received a phone call that changed my life forever.
I was 25-years old and hosting a dinner party when a detective called to tell me that my mom had been murdered. To make matters worse, I discovered that the crime was committed by someone I knew and loved dearly. In an instant, my world changed forever. After experiencing what it was like to have my personal life and deepest pain portrayed in the media, I am writing a book about my story in hopes that it will encourage anyone who is experiencing pain and loss to know that they can make it through - and to serve as a reminder for journalists of the great privilege and responsibility we have when reporting on other people’s stories of tragedy and pain.
I now use my storytelling and leadership skills to connect people and resources to organizations that empower journalists and business leaders to make a positive impact on the world.
One of my greatest passions is connecting and supporting women leaders by creating community and space for them to be fully seen and known. Through women’s events, executive cohorts, retreats and conferences, I help women leaders experience healing and renewed purpose through the transforming power of community.
What People Are Saying
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It’s not often you meet someone whose story could be told in a TV drama or ripped from the headlines. To listen to Melissa share her life story is to hear a tale of tragedy, forgiveness, grace and love that few people have experienced. Evident in her quiet strength and courage is her ability to have found healing and faith. Melissa weaves her extraordinary life experiences into relatable truths and is an example of choosing joy in any circumstance.
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— NYDIA MARRON, MOPS Group Leader, Stamford, CT
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I have heard many stories of tragedy and loss but none has impacted me like Melissa’s. Her words inspire journalists to be more compassionate when the person on the other end of their microphone has experienced loss and will help people to see that journalists aren’t as disconnected from reality as they might believe. Melissa’s story needs to be told, not just to journalists, but to a wider audience, who is looking for a path to hope and healing after experiencing loss”
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— Lisa Chan Carnazzo, Anchor/Reporter, CBS News, San Francisco
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A talented journalist with a passion for sharing the stories of others, Melissa found the spotlight suddenly turned on her own tragic story of shocking loss. Melissa desires to see the power of storytelling transform friendships and create connections. She has shared her story, painful as it is, for this purpose. Readers will be inspired not just to maintain hope in suffering but, even more importantly in our fractured world of shallow relationships, to invest more ardently in the stories of those around us.
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— RENEE REYNOLDS, New York, NY
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As a journalist, you never expect one of the stories you cover to happen to one of your friends and colleagues in the newsroom. Melissa taught every one of us who worked with her an incredibly valuable lesson about what it’s like when the camera lens is turned; when the interviewer becomes the interviewee. It’s a lesson every journalist – especially today – needs to hear. Melissa’s story will give you goosebumps and leave you speechless. It will make you a better journalist and, more importantly, a better person.
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— GREG PHILLIPS, CBS News, Los Angeles, CA
An experienced journalist with a heart for connecting people to stories that matter.
Let’s chat
I’d love to hear from you!