Creative & Career Highlights

• University of Michigan Alumni Association
  Staff Expert, Iceland & The Northern Lights Tour, November 2024
• National Parks at Night
  Guest Speaker, February 2024
• Michigan Aurora Chasers
  Founder, January 2021
• Social Gap Experiment Anthology
  Creator of the Social Gap Experiment and Editor of Creative Anthology, 2020
• NASA Social Media Ambassador
  ESA Solar Orbiter Launch, February 2020
• The Aurora Summit
  Co-Founder & Conference Host, 2017 – Present

Published Photographer & Aurora Chaser

• Amateur Astronomy Magazine, 2023
  Featured in 30th Anniversary Edition for Aurora Chasing Efforts: “Making the Dream a Reality”
• University of Michigan: College of Engineering News, 2023
  Arctic Circle Aurora Photography Published; Space Mission Concept Press Release
• Click on Detroit/WDIV TV News Feature 2022
  Photography Showcased in TV News Video
• NASA Social Media Ambassador, 2020
  Photography and Video Behind-the-Scenes Coverage of the Solar Orbiter Launch
• “Love Winter” Cover Story, Minnesota Monthly, 2016
  Sun Dog Photography Published; Conceptualized, wrote, curated and contributed photography to magazine cover Story
• Capture Minnesota: Photo of the Day, 2013
  Award-Winning Lake Superior Photography
• City Pages: Best of the Arts Blog, 2013
  Various journalism and photography features published, Freelance Journalist

Books & Anthologies

• Below the 45th Parallel
  Author, The Beginner’s Guide to Chasing the Aurora in the Great Lakes Region, Independently published in 2022, Available on Amazon
• Social Gap Experiment Anthology,
  Editor & Nonfiction Contributor, Independently published in 2020, Available on Amazon
• REO Town Reading Series Anthology
  Fiction Contributor, October 2020
• Hope in the Hoarfrost
  Author, Poetry Chapbook, Self-published in 2016; Available on Amazon

Literary Journals & Chapbooks

• The Wild Word, “#44: Celestial,” Poetry, November 2019
• Still Point Arts Quarterly, Short Story, Winter 2018
• The Aurorean, Poetry, Spring 2018 (1995 — 2020)
• We Had To Go On Living, Cover Artist, Red Bird Chapbooks, Featured in 2013
• Dispatch Literary Journal, Poem, 2005

Social Media Influencer

• Founder of Michigan Aurora Chasers, January 2021
• NASA Social Media Ambassador, Solar Orbiter Launch, February 2020
• Social Media Forum Host, Various Nonprofits, 2012-2021
• Museum Instameet Host, Minnesota Historical Society, 2015
• Social Media Panelist, Minnesota State Government Symposium, 2015
• Mall of America Tweet Up Host, St. Catherine University Shout Out Event, 2013

Magazines & Nonfiction

• Amateur Astronomy Magazine, 2023: “Making the Dream A Reality”
• University of Michigan News Contributor, 2022 – Present
• Interlochen Center for the Arts, 2021
• Area Voices: Astro Bob’s Astronomy for Everyone, 2020
• MSU Today Contributor, 2019 – 2021
• ComArtSci Today, 2018 – 2021
• Minnesota Monthly, Cover Story, 2016
• City Pages, 2013 – 2016
• Scene in the West Metro, 2016
• Minnesota Historical Society Magazine, 2015
• Mitchell on Law, William Mitchell College of Law, 2014 – 2015
• SCAN: St. Catherine University Magazine, 2011 – 2013
• Portraits Magazine, 2008 – 2011

Public Speaking & Presentations

• Pay It Forward Day, Virtual Writing Seminar Presenter, 2022
• A Fool Proof Formula: Catch the Northern Lights, Aurora Summit, 2021
• Wharton Center for the Performing Arts, Wharton Wednesdays, 2021
• Aurora Folklore & Mythology, Aurora Summit Presenter, 2017, 2019, 2021
• Inkwell Poetry Reading Series, Featured Author, 2019
• East Lansing Art Festival Main Stage, Fiction 440 Event, 2019
• Careers in Journalism, Media & Writing, Various Colleges & Clubs, 2013 – 2019
• Minnesota Congressional Race, Political Debate Moderator, 2016
• Great Lakes Aurora Hunters Gathering, Presenter 2015 – 2016
• BrandLab Youth Field Trip, Guest Speaker, 2015

Open Mic & Fiction Performances

• REO Town Reading Series, Author Reading
  — May 30, 2019: Volume 13 | Presenting “Look Up”
  — Feb. 27, 2020: Volume 16 | Presenting “BlackJack & The Dawn of Dark Pollution”
  — Jan. 21, 2021: Fireside Chat 9 | Presenting Poetry & A Novel Excerpt, “Aurora Chasing on the Escarpment”
• Fiction 440, Various Performances
  — May 18, 2019: #54 Winsome, Whale, Wonder
  — Sept. 24, 2019: #56 Starlight, Exhausted, Price
  — Jan. 7, 2020: #58 Hazard, Bounce, Tonic
  — Mar. 11, 2020: #60 Conquest, Sushi, Lure
  — Oct. 20, 2020: #62 Fall, Fire, Fanciful
  — June 2021: #63 Finally, Yawning, Zip,
• — January 2022: #67 Duplex, Jumble, Nuisance
• — June 2022: #70 Willing, Filling, Grave
• The Poetry Room, Various Performances
  — Aug. 13, 2019: Season Three
  — Nov. 11, 2019: Survivor Series
  — Dec. 7, 2019: Promise
  — Jan. 14, 2020: Dirty Laundry
  — Mar. 10, 2020: Recovery Room
  — Apr. 10, 2020: Last Words

Honors & Awards

• ADDY Awards in Mid-Michigan, Bronze in Online/Interactive Digital Communications, ComArtSci Today, 2020
• Outstanding Performance Award, Carnegie Leadership Institute, 2018
• Medallion Awards, 2nd Place Best College Newsletter, 2017
• City Pages, Best of the Arts Blog, 2013
• Capture Minnesota, Photo of the Day, 2013
• Loft Literary Center, Short Poem Award, 2011
• Minnesota Newspaper Association, 2nd Place Social Issues Reporting, 2010

Newspaper Writing

With years of experience in journalism, Melissa has written hundreds of articles and feature stories for community newspapers. Selected publications include:

• The Associated Press
• Sun Newspapers
• Carver County News
• Owatonna People’s Press
• Waseca County News
• The Madison Press

Art Exhibits

• Still Point X, Online Exhibition for Still Point Art Gallery, 2018
  — Painting selected for publication in Still Point Arts Quarterly literary journal
• Art: Diverse Perspectives Through Local Eyes, Art Works Eagan, 2017
• Wintry Art Exhibit, Eagan Dunn Bros., 2015
• Art-A-Whirl, Northrup King Building Open Studio Tour, 2014
• First Thursdays in the Arts District, Exhibiting Artist, 2014
• Thirty Years of Hope, Cargill Gallery, Minneapolis Central Library, 2013. A joint effort by Altered Esthetics and Hennepin County Library, for the MN AIDS Project.
• Summer Art Exhibit, Apple Valley Dunn Bros., 2013