Melissa’s background is in astronomy and physics and she currently works as a public servant specialising in the fields of astronomy and education along with site, programs and project coordination, along with research and object acquisition. Melissa is also a casual instructor at Swinburne University for their online astronomy courses and a casual tutor at her local community college on both astronomy and family history.

She has been an active member of Sutherland Astronomical Society for over 20 years with an interest in astroimaging, particularly of solar eclipses and comets and Melissa has presented numerous talks on astronomy and solar eclipses and illustrates these with her images.

Melissa’s interest in genealogy started at an early age and has grown over the years. She joined the SAG in 2000, the Board in 2015, and in December 2018 was elected as the first female President of the Society in its 90 years of operation. She serves on the Education and the Governance, Risk & Compliance committees and is a regular presenter at the SAG on various topics, with a particular interest in DNA.

She is also an active member of Botany Bay Family History Society which she also joined in 2000.

Melissa’s great uncle sparked her interest in family history though it was some years before she explored this interest further with her research taking her to England, Ireland and France. DNA has helped unravel many mysteries including who her maternal grandfather was and has added new areas of research in the USA, Germany and Switzerland.