After retiring as a professional athlete in 2021, Melissa founded non-profit Athletes of the World with Double Olympic Champion Hannah Mills. Athletes of the World builds athlete-led campaigns for climate action, and works with elite sports teams and federations to deliver climate education and climate-focussed media training for athletes.
Since 2020, Melissa’s brought over 600 elite athletes together across various campaigns: a letter to the UK government with 320 GB Olympian and Paralympian signatories; a video to World Leaders ahead of COP26 involving Olympic flag bearers form 35 different countries, and a letter to World Rugby signed by over 200 professional players. Last year she also co-hosted the second series of Emergency on Planet Sport with Jonathan Overend, unpacking sport’s contribution to the global climate emergency and the solutions the sector can deliver to create and influence change.
