Melissa has lived in Dallas for many years. She graduated from The Hockaday School and then from Wheaton College in Massachusetts, receiving her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. She has a background in public relations and the arts, beginning with her work at the Fina Corporation in Dallas, and then making her way to Manhattan to work with Sotheby's and with the esteemed fashion PR firm of Keeble, Cavaco, and Duka. She returned to Dallas permanently in the early 1990's to work as a free lancer in the fashion industry, mainly for such notable clients as Neiman Marcus. In the new millennium, she followed her passion for collecting and the decorative arts by starting the firm Halcyon House. Melissa is active in animal welfare issues, serving on the Advisory Council to the SPCA of Texas.