Part of our conversation was about Melissa’s work founding a nonprofit called Girls Matter. Hearing the name, I started thinking about all of the girls I’ve worked with through the years that became powerful, capable women and the value they brought to the world. My perspective came from a first world place, and as Melissa shared the purpose and mission of Girls Matter, it was eye opening. She is looking to help girls in underdeveloped areas like Uganda to stay in school. Often in these areas, families end up selling their daughters into marriage because they can’t afford to feed them let alone pay for their Education. That is a very different challenge from those the girls I’ve worked with have faced. I learned a lot from Melissa, and for that I am grateful 🙂

Melissa has settled now in Canada, however her travels have taken her many places, including living in Australia and Japan for over ten years. As she shared her journey with me, I found she had a balanced, relaxed way about her. She is a very skillful listener and I could clearly see how well she can center herself and focus on the conversation in front of her. I think the value of this skill is compounded by her drive to learn and grow. You’ll find that with Melissa, if she sees a problem worth solving she will seek the knowledge to find solutions that work. You will absolutely know you have been heard, and she will go to work to find the right solution for you.

I’m always fascinated by the events that shift a Ripple Maker into discovering their life’s work. For Melissa, it was both of her daughters suffering concussions, and her frustration with not knowing how best to help them recover. She wanted options and understanding and wasn’t getting either. She told me “When someone tells me no, I find another way.” As her daughters went through treatment and Therapy, Melissa started learning more and more about brain health. She started sharing what she had learned to help others in her community. (Interesting side note, her community is involved in a lot of extreme sports, so concussions are much more common than you would normally see).

Through this experience and her travels, in 2015 Melissa shared that she felt called to commit her life to “Service to the planet and to humanity.”, and that’s what she is doing. As a certified health coach she has studied NLP, hypnotherapy and timeline therapy. She learned to read labs and help her clients adopt healing protocols when she became certified as an Integrative Health Practitioner. She recognizes that, “If I don’t know these things, how many more people don’t know about them as well?” In true Ripple Maker fashion, Melissa is willing to go do something about it.

There are so many elements of Melissa’s work, and I’d like to highlight one more. In 2013, she watched the documentary “Girls Rising”. As she learned about the challenge of keeping these girls in school so that they could stay with their families and receive an education, she found herself compelled to do something about it. This lead to the founding of Girls Matter in 2017. It was the beginning of her work to help improve the lives of these girls. She shared with me how that work has evolved, and it is both brilliant and impactful. It’s another example of who Melissa is as a person, and her willingness to do meaningful work in service to the greater good.

Melissa is a good person to know of you need a knowledgeable advocate for your health. She’ll help you find solutions that work for you and that allow you to “Trust in the natural healing process”. When you’re finding yourself dealing with health challenges, this feels like a good option to have available to you. She’s also a good person to know if you find yourself called to support causes that can genuinely make a difference in the world. She seems to always be looking for projects that will have a positive impact, and I think she would be a good ally if you are looking to do the same.

When I asked Melissa what she wants for her clients, she told me “That they unlock the power within themselves to do what they want to do with their lives.” She deeply believes in each of us and our ability to never stop learning, be of service, and find our true passion. Melissa is definitely making ripples on a global level, and I found myself inspired to think bigger after my conversation with her. I think you will too 🙂

To learn more about Melissa and her many projects, use the links below:
https://linktr.ee/yourguidedhealthjourney

Discover Your Toxic Load Quiz: https://bit.ly/mytoxicload

Melissa’s wellness website: https://yourguidedhealthjourney.com

Girls Matter website: https://girlsmatter.ca

Link to trailer for “Girls Rising” that was the impetus to starting Girls Matter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJsvklXhYaE