Hello. გამარჯობა. Здравствуйте. 

Melanie is an educator, writer, and photographer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is currently pursuing an MA in History at Villanova University to enrich her work at the busy intersection of writing, research, and education. Prior to moving to Philadelphia, she lived in the Black Sea country of Georgia for many years, where she wrote about and photographed local culture and tradition for publications such as CNN Travel, Euronews, Wanderlust Magazine, Atlas Obscura, et al. She also has an extensive background in ESL and ELA instruction and is actively transitioning to a career in teaching history. 

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Skilled at weaving in-depth narratives that bring people and places to life, she has worked on a large variety of projects in Georgia, from documenting ancient fertility rituals in rural Kakheti, to colorful reads on the nation's capital, Tbilisi. Along with pursuing passion projects involving the South Caucasus, Melanie writes in many creative capacities for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, where she helps spark curiosity in those seeking to understand their connection to the natural world.

In 2024, she participated in a research exchange series coordinated by Harvard's program on Georgian Studies, where she presented on the evolution of Berikaoba from folk ritual to its incorporation of political commentary and its influence on early Keenoba celebrations. Beyond this, Melanie actively maintains and seeks to improve her Georgian and Russian literacy, routinely seeking out opportunities to better understand the complexities of both.

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Melanie's writing and research focus on religion in Georgia and the broader Caucasus. She is particularly interested in how religious practices, rituals, and traditions—Berikaoba, Orthodox Radonitsa, Lamproba, Kvirikoba, regional funerary rituals and beliefs around pre-existence, etc.—endure as forms of living heritage, as well as the impact of Soviet modernization and ongoing globalization on them.