"Melissa’s focus on taking small action steps got me from having writer's block in my childhood bedroom into a coworking space surrounded by community, re-committing to a morning routine, creating writing sprints, and hiring the help I needed to meet my personal love and money goals. Not to mention the counsel she provided in moments when I wanted to give up and couldn’t see how far I’d come because “I was in it.” It was the best investment I could have made for myself and my projects. We were able to focus on not just my creations but me as the creator also."
— Arielle C., TV writer and producer
“Melissa has an incredible way of holding space without taking on any of the client’s agency away. I worked with Melissa in the midst of a massive shift in my life, both in my career and my understanding of myself. With compassion and openness, she was able to take the nebulous feelings and ideas I shared and transform them into a pointed focus so I could gently be guided towards actionable steps.”
— Xenia Viray, artist, writer, healer
"Melissa has a great intelligence and creative sensibility. She skillfully navigates both self-discovery and direction, helping me to focus deliberately on my inner voice and trust my instincts more deeply. With her guidance, I was able to work much faster than I would have on my own. This experience has been truly transformative, significantly shaping my personal growth and inspiring substantial changes. Thank you, Melissa, for your invaluable guidance and support—it has truly been a transformative journey!"
-Michele B., designer
Melissa has a great intelligence and creative sensibility. She skillfully navigates both self-discovery and direction, helping me to focus deliberately on my inner voice and trust my instincts more deeply. With her guidance, I was able to work much faster than I would have on my own. This experience has been truly transformative, significantly shaping my personal growth and inspiring substantial changes. Thank you, Melissa, for your invaluable guidance and support—it has truly been a transformative journey!
“What I love most about Melissa's coaching style is her ability to seamlessly zoom in and out—balancing life's big questions with pragmatic steps to ensure that your intentions and actions remain in harmony. Through our work together, she co-created a safe and empowering container to shape a fuller articulation of my professional, journey, talents and skills. While our work focused on how I wanted to be known in the world, it also fostered a deeper, more integrated understanding of myself. Working with Melissa has been an incredible journey of growth, re-alignment, and self-discovery.”
— Ariana Allensworth, design director, artist, culture worker
"Melissa’s coaching style is a seamless blend of professional strategizing and emotional counsel that was incredibly constructive in addressing my existential and basic needs as an aspiring creative professional. It was a total improvement to where my personal artistic life meets the professional world as well as the place where my current occupation transforms into a lifelong calling."
- Al Veiluva, visual designer
Melissa’s coaching style is a seamless blend of professional strategizing and emotional counsel that was incredibly constructive in addressing my existential and basic needs as an aspiring creative professional. It was a total improvement to where my personal artistic life meets the professional world as well as the place where my current occupation transforms into a lifelong calling.
“Melissa is a deeply insightful, warm-hearted and gifted coach. I have loved working with her. She has helped me to envision and navigate a clearer path through the weeds of a truly challenging time in my personal life.”
— Pooja S., integrative medicine business owner
"No matter how ready you are to ask for help, accepting that help and facing the ways it changes and challenges you creates seismic synapse-shifts in the brain. Melissa’s approach prompts you to rethink the structures and walls you have built within your own narrative, strip away what is extraneous, and surface the integral underpinnings to re-lay a more coherent and sincere foundation. She brings patience and an acute understanding of the difficulties that the deconstruction process brings, and gracefully shows you the ways and means of finding your own story and how to tell it."
- Marissa Chen, events and hospitality professional
No matter how ready you are to ask for help, accepting that help and facing the ways it changes and challenges you creates seismic synapse-shifts in the brain. Melissa’s approach prompts you to rethink the structures and walls you have built within your own narrative, strip away what is extraneous, and surface the integral underpinnings to re-lay a more coherent and sincere foundation. She brings patience and an acute understanding of the difficulties that the deconstruction process brings, and gracefully shows you the ways and means of finding your own story and how to tell it.
"I came to Melissa initially because there was this gap — between how others saw me and how I viewed myself. It was through working with Melissa, through curiosity, through play, and through exploration, that I was able to bridge that gap by worrying less about others’ perceptions. I learned how to focus more on trusting myself, believing in me, and bringing more of myself to every moment.
Through the sweat and the tears, Melissa has become the first person that I wanted to share good news with, and the first person that I wanted to process bloopers with.
It’s the best investment in yourself that you could make.
-Celine K., lawyer
Working with Melissa has been both a joy and a privilege
Melissa has helped me understand how my mind works and unravel the operating system that it’s running on. Aside from just helping me decode my values system, she helped me discover my belief system. And has helped shape how I view and relate to myself.
I came to Melissa initially because there was this gap — between how others saw me and how I viewed myself. It was through working with Melissa, through curiosity, through play, and through exploration, that I was able to bridge that gap by worrying less about others’ perceptions. I learned how to focus more on trusting myself, believing in me, and bringing more of myself to every moment.
It has always been easier to advocate for others than it has been for myself. I don’t think this is that uncommon of a phenomenon. Through the sweat and the tears, Melissa has become the first person that I wanted to share good news with, and the first person that I wanted to process bloopers with.
She’s someone you want to have in your corner.
If you’re looking for change, or in the midst of a transition, or just want to level up your life in a way that feels more aligned with your values, Melissa is that warm and welcoming tour guide that you want by your side as you navigate your next journey into uncharted territories.
It’s the best investment in yourself that you could make.
"Melissa meets you where you are and offers, suggests, reframes, and surprises as she empowers you to walk your path meaningfully. She is a master of the coaching craft with tools and frameworks to match any and all occasions (or predicaments) and wields empathy, grit and kindness in everything. I look forward to working with her again."
-Robyn , marketing expert and coach
Melissa meets you where you are and offers, suggests, reframes, and surprises as she empowers you to walk your path meaningfully. She is a master of the coaching craft with tools and frameworks to match any and all occasions (or predicaments) and wields empathy, grit and kindness in everything. I look forward to working with her again.
“Melissa helped me transform my way of thinking about myself. I had been stuck in a pattern of self-sabotaging thoughts, allowing the negative voices in my head to control my actions. Since working with Melissa, my thoughts have shifted from “I never finish anything” to “I can do that.” I use the tools she taught me every day, and I’ve noticed a huge difference in my ability to put myself out there, give myself credit, and see what I am actually capable of accomplishing every day. She helped me see myself in the way that I want to be seen. Her work is transformative – it’s amazing what she can fit into a series of video calls.”
— Bridget Badore, Freelance Photographer
I love feeling like I have a creative partner (and cheerleader) alongside me in this chapter of growth. Melissa helps you push yourself to do things you didn’t think you could, asks unexpected questions, and facilitates transformation, all in the most gentle and nurturing way. The shift in my mindset from “find all the answers” to “work in progress” has made me feel so much lighter and freer.”
-Julia G., graphic designer + photographer
I began working with Melissa at a time when I was feeling stuck and unfulfilled with my current career path. I thought I lacked the confidence to seek out opportunities in new directions and was unsure of what it was I even wanted to do.
Melissa has carved out a safe space where I can develop trust in myself by helping me uncover values, curiosities, and desires that can guide me as I make decisions — about work but also my personal life. We collaboratively determine next actions to take in each session — incremental enough not to feel insurmountable. In a matter of weeks of meeting, a lingering curiosity of mine began to feel more and more legitimate and feasible to explore. My sense of stagnation began to fizzle.
I started a new job in a new field two months ago. Though I don’t yet know exactly how my path will unfold, I can stay present in my current professional exploration through my work with Melissa. I can embrace the process of figuring out what I want to do by gaining experience instead of trying to think my way through it all. The shift in my mindset from “find all the answers” to “work in progress” has made me feel so much lighter and freer.
I love feeling like I have a creative partner (and cheerleader) alongside me in this chapter of growth. Melissa helps you push yourself to do things you didn’t think you could, asks unexpected questions, and facilitates transformation, all in the most gentle and nurturing way. I leave each session with more wind in my sails, inspired to keep setting and reaching goals that bring exciting changes into my life.
“Thank you for not only introducing me to the opportunity itself -- but even moreso helping me find some answers in myself of what values I'm looking for, the ways of working that energize me most, being able to experiment and jump into work itself (vs. application paralysis) and overall trusting myself more through a process that never really ends. ”