Melissa is the Manager of fEEL Lab, the feltExperience and Empathy Lab and an artist. Melissa completed studies in photography (1987) and painting (1994) at the Canberra School of Art, ANU. She also holds a Masters of Sustainable Heritage, Development & Management, ANU, (2007) focussing on arts, cultural heritage and human rights, locating culture at the centre of community development activities. She has worked in the arts and cultural sectors for about 25 years, managing exhibitions and collections projects across a range of institutions in Australia, New York, San Francisco and Hong Kong – including the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust; Whitney Museum of American Art; Canberra Contemporary Art Space; National Gallery of Australia and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Melissa also spent three years in the Kingdom of Tonga as a cultural heritage management advisor, capacity building with local counterparts and managing projects to preserve, promote and activate Tongan culture.