Melanie graduated in 2001 with a Masters in Architecture from Dalhousie University on the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Honor Roll for outstanding academic achievement. She was the recipient of the American Institute of Architects Medal awarded to the top-ranking student who had achieved general excellence throughout the professional program. As the recipient of the Rosetti Scholarship and Teaching Assistantship, she had the opportunity to travel to Egypt and study the city of Cairo. The Mobil Oil Canada Scholarship was awarded to Melanie for undertaking studies pertaining to the physical, social and political impacts of energy-related developments.

Melanie joined the firm of Brian MacKay-Lyons in 2001 and has gained considerable experience in space planning for programmatically complex institutional and public buildings. She was instrumental in the programming, design, and the production of contract documents for the firm's larger institutional projects.