An Unquenchable Ambition

Melissa Brown, social worker and much more besides, has had a life that could fill volumes. She discusses her history, her future and her embrace of the Porsche Macan’s unmatchable appeal.

Although Melissa hasn’t always been a Porsche driver, a test drive was enough to sway her. ‘When looking for a new car, I looked at five different brands,’ she remembers. ‘After visiting several dealerships with my son James, we were invariably disappointed when road-testing each vehicle.’

That all changed when her son James suggested a Porsche. ‘His approach was: ‘Come on Mum, let’s just see what it’s like!’. So, we ventured into Porsche Centre Brighton.’ Melissa recalls her initial visit and warm welcome, also commenting on her observation of the dealership’s culture of care. ‘Our salesperson was Jake; he was fabulous and very generous with his time, thoroughly explaining every single feature and detail of the Macan with us,’ she remembers. ‘I’d had another car for the past 11 years, transporting my son and his numerous friends, all crammed in there,’ Melissa says. ‘It was dependable – but I haven’t looked back since acquiring the Porsche.’

Given the hard work Melissa puts into every aspect of her life, the Macan is a well-deserved reward. ‘I posted a pic of the car in my driveway when we picked it up, knowing my friends and family would appreciate this stage of the journey after 19 years of being a single mum.’ Let’s circle back to discover how Melissa reached this point in her eventful life. ‘I was born in Sydney, but moved to the US as my father worked in the film industry,’ Melissa remembers. ‘I grew up in LA for 12 or 13 years; after finishing high school, I became a professional tennis player age 16–21 on the USTA Satellite Circuit.’ After those arduous years of physical slog, Melissa began a new chapter by returning to her country of birth. ‘At 21, I moved back to Australia on my own,’ she says. ‘I’d resolved to only stay for six months, but that changed when I fell in love.’ After getting engaged, Melissa decided to regain her Australian citizenship. While the engagement didn’t last, her new home did. ‘I began striving to get back on track,’ she says. ‘That’s when I decided to gain my qualification in interior design and forge a new career.’ Romance soon diverted Melissa’s life again, however. ‘I met my future husband while studying, and ended up marrying him in the last year of my diploma,’ she says. ‘At around that time, I opened my own interior design business in Brighton, and had soon fallen pregnant with my son.’ Those times were quite challenging for woman entrepreneurs. ‘In the early stages of establishing the business, everyone was telling me to ‘go home and be a mother’,’ Melissa remembers. ‘Even so, I ended up running that business for six or seven years, several of those working from home.’ Melissa’s marriage came to an end around this time. With her signature energy, she returned to tertiary studies, choosing counselling. ‘I took on a Bachelor of Applied Social Science (Counselling) at ACAP,’ she explains. ‘I paid my way as a single mother by working three jobs part-time in retail, calling on my interior design talents.’ On graduating, Melissa began an eight-year stint as a Lecturer at RMIT, teaching child protection, suicide prevention and psychology to students entering the police, corrections, customs, or related industries – all while completing her Master of Social Work and obtaining a Graduate Certificate in Developmental Trauma, a genuinely daunting workload. As well as becoming a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers, Melissa’s next chapter began when she met her former Lecturer at an event and mentioned that she was seeking work. ‘She suggested that I apply for work at the Magistrate’s Court of Victoria as a Family Violence Practitioner. So I did!’ That avenue occupied Melissa for the next three and a half years – but true to form, there was more. ‘I noticed there wasn’t much support for victim survivors of family violence where I lived in Bayside, so I started a free counselling group for women at the Community Centre. It really took off.’ Even with such a full plate already, Melissa had further plans. ‘At the same time as my court role, I began building up my own clinic in Black Rock from nothing,’ she remembers. ‘I took on a new space in Beaumaris at the end of September last year, after seeing a room available two doors down from a friend’s workplace. ‘I’m still running the family violence group but as one-on-one, and expanding this to encompass an adolescent support group in conjunction with my private practice,’ Melissa continues. Unsurprisingly, that’s far from all she’s up to. ‘The Court still uses me occasionally, and I’m also the Victorian Branch President of the Australian Association of Social Workers.’ With such a full-throttle life, it’s no wonder Melissa appreciates the pure driving pleasure of her Porsche Macan. •