Meleah started college as a biology major, which led to studying in Ecuador (during a coup), sleeping in the Amazon rainforest and hiking around the Galapagos Islands. These were amazing experiences, yet she also noticed that on study breaks she read Psychology magazines for fun. Following a crossroads moment, she did what many college students do, and switched her major. Having enjoyed reading about the power of the brain for healing and growth she switched her major to Psychology. 

Away from work, Meleah enjoys listening to music and podcasts, cooking new cuisines for Cookbook Club, gardening, reading and knitting. She especially likes caring for her Bird of Paradise plants, as they bring a taste of the tropics to Minnesota life. In the summer she can be found gardening, SUP’ing (stand up paddleboarding) or kayaking. 

She is active in her community and co-hosts a Community Group with the purpose of building ultra- local relationships to connect neighbors. One Community Group activity she organized was a Clean-up the Park event. Meleah bought a kayak and paddled out to access trash in the pond. Together the Community Group members helped fill countless bags of recovered trash from the park. Since then, that park has been redeveloped with new housing, and is about to open up a newly built boardwalk where cyclists and walkers will be able to travel over the cleaned up area. 

Meleah is active in her church and has sung in choir, helped with a Ukrainian Egg fundraiser, and co-teaches Sunday School with her teen son. As a women’s ministry leader she helped develop TABLE, a large group format based on Jenny Allen’s  IF Table. She co- led TABLE, creating content of reflective questions and served there as a speaker to large groups. TABLE continues to be an opportunity for women to gather monthly over a meal for intentional conversation. 

She is happy to be able to give back financially to the community, as 10% of her income from Backdoor Counseling goes to support nonprofits.