Melanie is an Analyst in The Asia Group’s Southeast Asia practice, where she covers a broad range of political and economic topics to assist clients with strategic interests and equities in maritime Southeast Asia.
Melanie brings over five years of experience serving in foreign policy and intelligence roles in the Australian government. She has provided advice on a wide range of Indo-Pacific political and economic developments in Australia’s Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and Office of National Intelligence. Most recently, Melanie served as the Executive Advisor to Australia’s highest-ranked intelligence official – the Director-General of National Intelligence. She also undertook roles drafting policy for the 2018 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit, and coordinating Australia’s National Security Committee amid Australia-China trade tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic. Since arriving in Washington, D.C., Melanie has conducted research for the Australia Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and for the Georgetown Journal of Asian Affairs (GJAA).
Melanie will receive an MA in Asian Studies from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service in May 2024, under a Ramsay Postgraduate Scholarship. Like many Australians, regular childhood travel to Indonesia ignited her passion for studying Southeast Asia, which she furthered through a Bachelor of International Relations (first class honours) at the University of Queensland. Melanie is proficient in Indonesian and served as Director of the National Australia-Indonesia Language Awards to encourage greater Asia literacy in Australia. In her spare time, she enjoys surfing and making pottery.