Melissa Clattenburg graduated with honours from the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, and from Rockport College in Maine. She has worked in the film and television industry in Nova Scotia for the past fifteen years in a variety of positions, including as an assistant director and production manager on productions such as Ghost Cases and The Classical Now. Her artwork has been exhibited in a number of galleries, including the Nova Scotia Art Gallery and the Anna Leonowens Gallery.