THE WORK:

From record-sealing reform to criminal and economic justice to health equity, Melanie helps clients shape legislative agendas, draft testimony, and navigate the Colorado State Capitol. She brings rigorous mixed-methods policy research — and the lived experience of moving a bill from idea to statute.

Melanie founded and chaired the Colorado Clean Slate Coalition — a 50-member alliance of advocacy, legal, and community partners that moved record-sealing reform into law. She knows how to convene diverse stakeholders, align them around shared strategy, and keep the coalition strong through a long legislative fight.

Melanie has a proven track record of securing grant funding and managing multi-hundred-thousand-dollar program budgets. Melanie supports clients on funder strategy, proposal development, and the long-arc strategic planning that keeps a theory of change sharp — and fundable.

Melanie has trained advocates across Colorado — from urban Denver to rural and frontier communities — on how the State Legislature actually works and how to show up inside of it. Using a trauma-informed approach, she supports advocates as they learn to write, testify, and share the stories that move policy.