Melinda’s wide and varied background includes the financial, administrative and legal aspects of grants management, database management, product development, web development and design, graphic design, writing, blogging, community management and media commentary. While at The David & Lucile Packard Foundation she grew the Grants Management team from a single person to a full department that awarded and paid out over $3B during her tenure. She also founded the West Coast chapter of the Grants Manager Network and served on the GMN board of directors. Later, her unique take on family life led her to found one of the first Mommy Blogs and become a highly sought-after consultant for fortune 500 companies and the online parenting community. She is a technophile, a published parenting author and expert and tries her best to use her powers for good. Melinda has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Davis and lives with her blended family of eight in the Seattle Area.