Jamaican born Melanie Baker immigrated to this country over thirty years ago, with a passion to positively impact marginalized communities and create change for families affected by the ravages of poverty, disparity and trauma. Through her decades of lived experience, she has proven the value in creating healing spaces conducive to the safety and success of vulnerable students to survive and thrive in the midst of the many ways trauma presents itself in their lives.

With over twenty five years of experience as a Special Education teacher, home instructor, tutor, mentor, parent trainer, advocate, editor, educational center manager, writer, curriculum development specialist with grant as well as fund development expertise, as well as a wife of twenty one years, a mother of a young adult neurodivergent son, a college freshman and a teenager in high school as well as bonus adult children and grandchildren; Melanie founded Project R.E.S.E.T.S., Restoring Expectations through Socio Emotional Trauma Survival to provide safety and success training for students and their families to overcome the generational and cyclical harm produced through trauma. Celebrated as a community Equity champion, for her work promoting inclusion in immigrant communities in particular, Melanie developed Project R.E.S.E.T.S., to create a bridge for families impacted by trauma of any kind, to find their way to the safety and success for their students. Whether harm from the justice system, in terms of justice impacted families; or violence of any kind, domestic violence, gun violence, gang violence; or substance use and abuse; or disability, neurodivergence, from learning, mental health, emotional to intellectual disability; health concerns, disease, sickness, illness; socio-economics; language barriers; race; ethnicity, nationality - no matter the myriad of factors that impact student safety and success, Project R.E.S.E.T.S. offers families living, breathing hope.

Trauma isn't the end, just a part of the story. By providing families resilience training, as well as other direct skill building techniques and strategies, Project R.E.S.E.T.S. has developed a proven track record in increasing the likelihood for the success and safety of vulnerable students, using a communication centered approach based in rewriting students' stories into one of high expectations.

Project R.E.S.E.T.S. offers a door allowing students access to opportunities to improve their likelihood for purpose filled living, by harnessing their potential, gifts and talents; promoting the idea that all families, given the necessary tools and supports, can create and cultivate the conditions conducive for the safety and success of their students.

Project R.E.S.E.T.S. premise that change begins at the level of the family, as the nexus for the well-being of their students re-navigates the trajectory for many students and their families and Melanie has been at the helm of those outcome changes for many students and families.