Melissa was born and raised in Northern NJ. She attended West Virginia University where she graduated with a BS in Journalism/Public Relations. Melissa moved in Charlotte, NC in 1995 to start a corporate career at a large bank during the day and work in hospitality at night. Always struggling with people telling her where to be and when and what she could and could not do, she knew she wanted to work for herself. She bootstrapped a catering business in her early twenties and worked day in and day out until she grew the business large enough 20 years later to sell to a large restaurant group. A student of all things financial, Melissa became a real estate investor on a small scale as a side hustle to her catering business. When she sold the business, she purchased a couple multifamily properties and is now a full-time real estate investor. Melissa also invests in the stock market, syndications and anything that has the potential to build wealth for she and her son.

Melissa is a nonprofit housing provider and rents several of her properties at below market rent to assist in the growing demand for affordable housing. She enjoys exercise, reading, travel, studying money, local and national headlines and politics. She is raising her eleven-year-old son to be a self-sufficient, kind and strong individual. She believes everyone has a chance for success if they work hard for it. Melissa and her son Charley are members of St. Gabriel Catholic Church.