Melanie Button is a project manager for Brighter Bites, overseeing efforts to increase earned revenue and find new funding streams to sustain our growing program.

Melanie grew up in a military family and her love of new foods and flavors grew with each move. A teacher at heart, Melanie is a proud graduate of NYU’s Program in Educational Theater. As a teaching artist for the Children’s Museum of the Arts, Melanie spent years delivering community-based arts education. Traveling from the Bronx to Brooklyn and back again Melanie’s eyes were opened to the full depth of disparities in health and food access that exist across New York.

Though the arts remain her first love, Melanie changed fields and looked to combine her passion for teaching and her deep desire to improve the health of all students. She learned the ins and outs of nutrition education as a Share Our Strength Americorps member and as a manager at City Harvest. Melanie received her Master of Public Health degree from CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy in New York. In 2020, Melanie was included on the NYC Food Policy Center’s annual 40 Under 40: The Rising Stars in NYC Food Policy list.