The former editor-in-chief of Los Angeles magazine, Melton cofounded an editorial consulting firm, Smakdab, that has grown out of her award-winning journalism career as an editorial director, editor-in-chief, and writer at newspapers and magazines. She works with corporations, media companies, agencies, nonprofits, and authors to create compelling storytelling across any and all platforms.

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Her podcast, Riveted, explores the art of great storytelling. She is co-creator and co-host of the show with journalist Amy Wallace. The show's debut season was nominated for two Webby Awards: Best Interview/Talk Show Podcast (limited series), and Best Creativity and Marketing Podcast.

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Since starting her own company, Melton has developed close relationships with several clients:

• Godfrey Dadich Partners—she serves as an editorial director of the San Francisco-based storytelling firm. Learn more about her collaborations

• Alta Journal—she is editor-at-large at the award-winning quarterly publication about California and the West founded by Will Hearst, where she edits stories and develops special projects. See recent stories

• WorkLab podcast—she is a producer and correspondent on the show, a production from Microsoft, Godfrey Dadich Partners, and Reasonable Volume

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As a consultant, Melton has also worked frequently as an editor-for-hire:

• Stepping in to edit a look at the trouble with dentistry  for The Atlantic

• Conceptualizing a special issue about Escape for California Sunday Magazine

• Narrating a documentary about L.A.’s infatuation with car chases for The New Yorker that was based on one of her stories 

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Melton's interests as a writer are far-reaching. One of her stories inspired a piece she performed on four tours in seven cities across the United States for Pop-Up Magazine.

 

Another story she wrote, “A Mother’s Road” for Alta Journal, won the 2021 Los Angeles Press Club Award for Travel Writing and the FOLIO Eddie Award for Long Form Feature Content. It’s an account of a road trip Melton took on Route 66 with her son, who is on the autism spectrum.

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She hosts conversations and is available as a moderator for select events. Throughout her career she has led public forums with a wide range of political, business, health, education, and arts leaders, including:

• Secretary of State Colin Powell

• Law & Order creator Dick Wolf

• Actor-preservationist Diane Keaton

• Director of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas

• The creative team behind Breaking Bad

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Melton remains fascinated by her ever-evolving hometown of Los Angeles and is working on several creative projects further exploring the city's complexities and contradictions. 

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