Mel is a Business Designer within the International Development team, with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology & Anthropology (Honours) and a Certificate III in Design Fundamentals.

Her thesis explored the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and how Australian society reacted in relation to the loss of organised spaces for grieving. Through her tertiary study and thesis production, she developed her skills in various areas such as qualitative research methods, critical social analysis, compiling comprehensive research archives, and empathy when researching sensitive topics. She also gave a guest lecture and Q&A session at UNSW discussing her thesis topic and academic writing process. She also received the 2020 UNSW Social Sciences Undergraduate award for her essay discussing how social media can be used as a path for social change.

Her other areas of study interest include linguistics and semantics, gerontology, nutrition, criminology and behavioural change.

Mel believes having well-connected and empathetic social interactions are the foundations of the human experience. She aims to embody this within her work as a Business Designer with all stakeholders. With extensive research experience, she ensures a thorough examination of multiple aspects of the given topic, using a multitude of media modes. When problem-solving, Mel focuses on finding the core issues that allow her to consider the fundamental underlying problems needing to be solved, and solves them using creative and critical thinking, while also considering additional beneficial causal sequences of her work.

As a Business Designer, Mel will be responsible for the technical delivery, the capture and synthesis of research insights and building a powerful output that translates the insights into effective, actionable next steps.