From the Desk of Dr. Melanie

A layoff is often described in business terms. A restructuring. A reduction in force. A realignment. A cost-saving measure. A difficult but necessary decision. But for the person receiving the news, it can feel like life has been interrupted. Not just work. Life. Your calendar changes. Your routine changes. Your sense of security changes. Sometimes even your sense of identity changes. The plans you were quietly building around that paycheck, that title, that team, or that fut

May is interesting. The trekkies come out on May 4th. Cinco de Mayo celebrations follow shortly after. Then comes what is arguably one of the most widely celebrated holidays of the month: Mother’s Day. At the same time, May is also Mental Health Awareness Month. On the surface, those things may seem unrelated. But I actually think there’s a strong connection between Mother’s Day and mental health, for mothers and for others. For some people, Mother’s Day feels joyful and easy

Recently, I had the opportunity to reflect on lessons from my leadership journey while gathered with a group of women celebrating 30 years of an organization we share. Many of us are technology professionals at different stages of our careers. We also share another experience: participation in an intensive leadership program designed around something many programs overlook—deep internal reflection. The Journey of Self-Discovery Participants were asked to conduct an honest inv

As the anniversary of my son's death approaches, I think about another version of myself — the woman who, in the rawness of those first weeks, was expected to return to work after loss and simply carry on. My family and I had just moved to a new city. I was months into a new role at a new company — still learning colleagues’ names, still finding my footing. And then I lost my 15-year-old son. My world stopped. My inbox did not. The expectation communicated to me was that I wo

Intergenerational loss, emotional masking, and why healing often waits until adulthood It has been seven years since my father died. Receiving the news was devastating, but what lingered—and still lingers—was the aftermath. The phone calls. The unanswered questions. The systems I was suddenly expected to navigate while barely holding myself together. The finality of death collided with something else entirely: regret over lost time. My parents divorced when I was young, and t

This year, my view of paradise came with an unexpected obstruction: construction. Every morning, instead of waking up to the serene, picture-perfect landscape I envisioned, I was met with the clatter of drills, the shuffle of boots, the thump of hammers, and tarps snapping in the breeze. Dust hovered in the air—much to my dismay as an allergy sufferer—and the soundtrack of renovation started long before my morning swim. And yet, it was exactly the metaphor I needed. I could h

It’s been a rough few weeks for me—and for many in my network. You can feel it in the tone of emails, the pauses between messages, the deep sighs that linger after meetings, and the tighter embraces. Some weeks remind us that beneath all the titles, tasks, and timelines, we’re still human. There’s a phrase I often return to: everyone you meet is going through something. It’s simple but sobering. The colleague who spoke just a little too harshly may be carrying grief. The fri

The Stories That Shape Us—and How We Redefine Resilience I’ve learned that the stories we tell—especially the honest ones—can heal, connect, and lead us toward purpose. For years, I’ve poured into my work, my family, and my community—often at the expense of my own rest. Like many of you, I believed resilience meant pushing through, showing up, and staying strong no matter what. But what I’ve learned—through loss, leadership, and life itself—is that resilience isn’t built by c

When my doctoral classmates circled the virtual room sharing their project ideas, I held back until the end. I listened closely as they...

When Rest Becomes Stress: What a 20th Anniversary European Vacation Taught Me About Mental Health, Marriage, and Policy What was supposed...

The question itself wasn’t unusual. The tone was what caught me off guard: “You have student loans?” We were on break during a payments...