Mel is CEO of Canine Concern Scotland Trust (CCST), a Scottish Charity operating since 1988, managing the Therapet Visiting Service. The charity supports around 25,000 people in Scotland annually with around 900 volunteers and their pets across Scotland. They provide free visits to care homes, hospices, hospitals, day centres, assisted living facilities, emergency service staff, schools, tertiary education, prisons, community organisations and other charities. CCST is also involved in legislation via the Cross Party Working Group in the Scottish Parliament, research into how animals support human health, wellbeing of pets and advocating the welfare of those pets, and educational programmes in schools. Mel started working for the charity in 2019 as Support & Development Officer and has been CEO since January 2020. Prior to that, she was in teaching both in the UK and Singapore for over 20 years. She has 5 dogs and 1 cat.