Originally hailing from the Bay Area, California, Melia was woo’d to Lewis & Clark by the promise of a vibrant green city, a versitile education, and outstanding professors. In her youth, she spent many a long evening sitting in her dad’s cushy office chair, absorbing watered down theories of Freud, Jung, and “Dad,” as her therapist father attempted to make sense of his daughter’s middle and high school dilemmas. Little did she know that this initial armchair introduction into the world of Psychology would lead her into a world much more complex (and interesting) than middle school politics. After focusing her attention on social and community psychology at Lewis & Clark, Melia lept into the post-graduation world, keen on making a her mark in the realm of nonprofit work. She served two years as an AmeriCorps member with Hands On Greater Portland, helping connect volunteers with meaning service opportunities at over 250 nonprofits in the greater Portland area. She now works full-time at Hands On as their Partner Services Manager with a wonderful staff, and enjoys drawing on her psych education whenever statistics need to be analyzed, focus groups designed, or service learning opportunities created. In her free time, Melia enjoys biking around town, cooking for friends, dancing Irish sean-nòs, eating cheese, and trying to maximize the 24 hours in each day