Melanie has lived in Bristol all her life, attending both school and university in the city, and settling there after her uni days were finished. Her interests include travelling, netball and being forced to watch football! Social Housing and Policy was a core module of her BA in Geography and was where her interest in this sector first began. This coupled with the experience gained by attending events with her mother who was working in a housing association, helped her to decide that this would be her chosen career path. She started as an administrator in a housing association, going on to become a manager within the Supported Housing department, and recently being seconded to St Paul's Unlimited Community Partnership as a Housing Coordinator. Whilst working at the housing association she also completed her Postgraduate Diploma in Housing and was recently given Corporate Membership to the Chartered Institute of Housing. Melanie hopes that the varied knowledge that she has gained, working with all sections of the community including stakeholders, will help Westlea in the future to continue to provide an excellent service to its residents.