Crew

Film Producer/Director for Vietnam War Miracle received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Emerson College in Boston, MA in 1994. Melissa’s first job in television production began immediately after college as a Production Assistant for “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”. She was soon promoted to Music Coordinator for the show which launched a later move to Access Hollywood as their Music Segment Producer. Her love for telling a story is what had her dabbling in side projects for years. Eventually that love led her to become a finalist in HBO’s Project Greenlight with her first venture into short film, “The Pea Soup Caper”. 

In 2001 she left television for married life and before long gave birth to two amazing boys, Isa and Massimo who are her joy. In 2012 she experienced a life changing moment when she physically healed a back injury through the pranayama practice of breathwork. This profound event inspired her to immerse herself in the study of various holistic practices including Meditation, Craniosacral, Reiki, Respiratory Therapies, Human Design, and South American Plant Medicines. 

Melissa never thought she’d return to production work, but was touched by a newspaper article about her father, a doctor in Vietnam who saved the life of a man with a severe brain injury.  Dr. Young never knew if the soldier survived until 41 years later when Donald P. Mason searched him out. Melissa was so compelled to tell the story that she embarked on the project as a solo producer/director, funding it almost totally herself.

Vietnam War Miracle is her re-entry into her beloved passion for telling a story through documentary filmmaking. She has received the Impact DOC Award of Recognition for the film and recognized at the 19th Bare Bones International Film & Music Festival by winning the Best Military Documentary 2018 and Audience Choice Best Documentary Award 2018. 

Along with her work as founder of the holistic healing business Breathwork Worldwide, Melissa desires to continue to create “conscious” film projects. She currently lives on her farm in Richmond, VA with her two boys, puppy Baya, and three kittens Milo, Bandit, and Nixon.