Melanie Bell moved to West University Place in 2003 when she bought a 1939 bungalow. She has previously lived in Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Texas, California, Angola and Australia. She retired in 2019 from working as a technical IT professional and manager in the oil and gas industry. Her area of expertise is in using emerging technologies to apply data and information to key technical workflows. She has an applied mathematics degree from Texas A&M University.
Melanie is an avid runner and bicyclist. She is also an aerialist in trapeze and silks. She volunteers at Dress for Success Houston. She serves as the chair of the External Advisory Council for the Computer Science and Engineering Department at Texas A&M. She enjoys spending time in her yard keeping the weeds at bay without the use of pesticides.