As a member of morning radio shows for nearly 20 years, Melissa could be heard on 99X, Q100 and B98.5 in Atlanta. She also served as a Co-Host on Westwood One’s “Radio with a Twist,” the first syndicated terrestrial radio show geared toward the LGBT+ community, which could be heard in cities across the U.S. For these media efforts, Melissa was awarded the Atlanta Dream/SunTrust Inspiring Woman Award.

Melissa was the first openly-gay full-time morning show personality in Atlanta, and one of the first in the country. She is a Featured Columnist for The GA Voice, and has written for Huffington Post and  Curve Magazine about her experience as a lesbian. Melissa served on the Atlanta Police Department’s LGBT Advisory Board and currently serves on Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’s LGBT Advisory Board. For her efforts in sharing her life publicly and mentoring LGBT+ youth, Melissa received the HRC Community Leadership Award and the CHRIS Kids Kyle Anderson Service to Youth Award. 

A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Melissa established the Melissa Carter Leadership Fund in Knoxville to help current and future UT students achieve their goals.