Melanie was promoted to the role of Race and Place (RAP) Fund Program Officer for the Akonadi Foundation in January of 2010. Melanie began as Executive Assistant to President Quinn Delaney in 2004. Her interest in and talent for the foundation's programmatic and grantmaking work quickly led to a promotion to Program Associate in 2005. In her current role she leads the planning, development, implementation and assessment of the RAP and RAP Capacity Building fund as well as contributing to the long-term foundation wide strategy, Theory of Change and evaluation program.

Melanie co-founded the Bay Area Justice Funders Network, a network of funders working to help advance a justice agenda and strengthen grantmaking for social justice movements in the Bay Area. The network seeks to build relationships among foundations and facilitate authentic partnerships with community based justice organizations in order to help advance coordinated transformational strategies, solutions and visions for the region.

Melanie is also a dedicated and prolific activist-artist. She is a co-founder of the Dignidad Rebelde, a graphic arts collaborative dedicated to the production of work that translates people’s stories into art that can be put back into the hands of the communities of struggle who inspire it.  Melanie is also an active member of Visual Revolt-Bay Area Radical Graphics Network, the Taller Tupac Amaru, Justseeds Artists Cooperative and Consejo Grafico.

Melanie holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley in Ethnic Studies.