Melissa grew up in New York City, where her passion for fashion was fueled from a young age. She explored the fashion industry working in fashion PR, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Condé Nast’s W Magazine. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, she spent two-and-a-half years working for Edelman Berland, a global market research firm, before founding Riley Versa in late 2015. No matter where life has taken her, Melissa has always held firm to her New York roots – and the belief that the only rule in fashion is that there are no rules at all.