Melody is a long time NOW member, going back to her participation in the 1992 March in Washington. Upon relocating to RI, Melody discovered that Rhode Island NOW had not been active for nearly a decade. Melody swung into action. With the help of Chapter Development, she reclaimed the bank account, joined in coalition with likely supporters, and hosted a RI NOW kick-off party that drew 150 supporters. Melody served as the interim-President while reinvigorating the organization and was ultimately elected as State President. Since then, Melody and a powerful team of feminists have successfully established RI NOW as a force. Through Melody’s leadership RI NOW membership has steadily grown and the number of active members has increased with each new event. RI NOW has three active chapters, campus interest is in place for campus networks and a high school club is forming for the 2006 school year. Melody was elected as the Northeast Regional Director in 2005 and currently sits on the National Board.

Making connections within the community has been key to RI NOW’s success. Melody has served as President of the Board of Directors for the Women’s Resource Center, a domestic violence agency and continues to serve on a committee to raise awareness of same-gender partner violence and to identify gaps in service for victims. Currently, Melody serves on the Board of Directors for Ocean State Action (OSA), a statewide coalition of progressive organizations working toward a broader shared worldview. Melody also serves on the Board of RI Stonewall Democrats, on the Democratic Town Committee in Jamestown, RI, and as a Board member of the RI Choice Coalition. Melody’s professional work is at Brown University conducting research on women’s health issues. Prior to joining Brown University, Melody worked on environmental protection programs for 14 years in Washington DC and RI. During the 2002 RI Gubernatorial election, Melody took a leave of absence from environmental work to join the Myrth for Governor campaign as full-time staff.