Before beginning her legal career, Melanie was a union organizer in the Philadelphia service industry. She graduated magna cum laude from Temple Law School in 2026.

During law school, Melanie worked as a Peggy Browning Fellow for the United Food and Commercial Workers International. She also worked as a legal intern for Region 4 of the National Labor Relations Board. Upon her graduation from Temple, Melanie received the John Colvin Wright, Jr. award for achievement in labor law, and was elected into the Order of the Coif. During her time at Temple, she was a Beasley Scholar and Rubin Presser Social Justice Fellow. She earned her B.A. in Sociology from Carleton College in 2019.