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Melinda was born and raised in North Carolina. She discovered her passion for working with individuals with developmental disabilities while still in high school, volunteering during the school year in local group homes. Having realized her desire to influence change in policies on a larger scale, Melinda applied for, and received, the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Scholarship and went away to college, graduating Magna Cum Laude from Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, North Carolina, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services. Even while attending classes, Melinda continued to work in the field as a DSP. Having moved back home after college, Melinda became a wife to a Navy man, leaving the working world to be a stay-at-home mother to four handsome boys. During this time, Melinda volunteered for Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth, aka SAFY of Greenville.