Dr. Melissa McDowell is a Lifestyle Blogger and Chief Content Creator at [link-omitted]. Raised in Germany, by a German mother and American father, Melissa is bilingual and an experienced traveler with an expansive worldview. After moving stateside to attend college at Tuskegee University, Melissa went on to matriculate at Harvard University for her Master’s degree and worked in the field of higher education for most of her career. Her penchant for creativity and her entrepreneurial spirit led to starting and running a luxury wedding invitation business inspired by fashion for six years— which is where her love for blogging started. Initially blogging to attract bridal clients, Melissa quickly recognized the power of blogging for building community. Melissa went on to start a style blog in 2018.
Melissa’s research interests revolve around female entrepreneurship and her PhD dissertation study is on the lived experiences of African American women bloggers. In September 2019, Melissa tapped back into her creative desires, entrepreneurial endeavors, and love for blogging. She transitioned to full-time entrepreneurship and rebranded her former style blog to the lifestyle brand [link-omitted]. This new venture draws upon her education, and her professional and lived experiences, to help women in their 40’s cultivate the lives they really want to live.
An admitted foodie, Melissa enjoys exploring new restaurants and a good meal with friends. She is a dog mom to a mischievous fur baby dachshund and godmother to the cutest little girl in the world. When she is not working or working out, you can find her volunteering as a kindergarten classroom reader. After years of living in the northeast (Boston, New York, New Jersey) and then moving back to Germany, Melissa returned to the U.S. and decided to head south and currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.