Melanie has almost 20 years of experience advising nonprofit clients as in-house and outside counsel and has represented organizations in a wide array of missions. After graduating from Georgetown University Law Center with a Masters of Law in Taxation, Melanie began her legal career in Washington, DC working for large law firms and in house legal counsel at The Pew Charitable Trusts. After meeting her husband on their family vacation, she made the move to Colorado and started her own firm focused on advising nonprofits in 2015. Melanie was appointed to serve on the Executive Council of the Colorado Bar Association from 2018-2020, during which she served on the bylaws review committee.

In early 2022, she joined Fairfield & Woods as the tax-exempt organization specialist. Melanie serves on the firm’s pro bono committee and continues to expand her expertise in the area of nonprofit law. Most recently, she presented “Formation and Governance of a Colorado Nonprofit Corporation,” at the Primer on Advising Nonprofit Organizations in Colorado Event hosted by the Colorado Bar Association Continuing Legal Education on August 31, 2022. She was voted Law Week Colorado’s 2022 Barrister’s Best Nonprofit Lawyer.

Melanie lives in the Vail Valley and spends her free time enjoying all of the activities that the mountains have to offer, including fly fishing with her husband and hiking with her dog. She received a bachelor business administration and a juris doctor from Southern Methodist University.