{"id":291,"date":"2025-06-27T20:46:48","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T20:46:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nataliamds.org\/equitablepathways\/?page_id=291"},"modified":"2026-02-18T17:27:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T17:27:51","slug":"nicole-melvin","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/gallery\/nicole-melvin\/","title":{"rendered":"Nicole Melvin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns has-contrast-color has-accent-1-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-1 is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-794e3cfa wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nicole Melvin is a 51-year-old\u00a0Jamaican-American\u00a0master chef who rebuilt her life after experiencing homelessness in Miami from October 2023 to September 2024. With a 30-year career catering prestigious events nationwide, including Art Basel and military functions, Nicole faced housing instability that led her to Miami&#8217;s streets before securing permanent housing in North Miami Beach in September 2024. With support from dedicated outreach services, she has reconnected with family and is building stability in her community. A graduate of Virginia State University with culinary training from Baltimore, Nicole shares her story through this PhotoVoice project not just as someone who experienced homelessness, but as a skilled professional and community member moving forward with her life.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Photo Gallery<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-query is-layout-flow wp-block-query-is-layout-flow\"><ul class=\"wp-block-post-template is-layout-flow wp-block-post-template-is-layout-flow\"><li class=\"wp-block-post post-567 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-nicole-melvin tag-past\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignwide is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-794e3cfa wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:40%\"><figure class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/photographers\/nicole-melvin\/where-i-was\/\" target=\"_self\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-PAST-scaled-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Where I Was\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1;width:100%;object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-PAST-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-PAST-scaled-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-PAST-scaled-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-PAST-scaled-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-PAST-scaled-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-PAST-scaled-1-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:60%\"><div class=\"taxonomy-post_tag wp-block-post-terms has-large-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/tag\/past\/\" rel=\"tag\">PAST<\/a><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size:clamp(1.25rem, 1.25rem + ((1vw - 0.2rem) * 1.176), 2rem)\" class=\"wp-block-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/photographers\/nicole-melvin\/where-i-was\/\" target=\"_self\" >Where I Was<\/a><\/h2>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">Remembering the past: If nobody knows, nobody can help lead me to a better place. <a class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/photographers\/nicole-melvin\/where-i-was\/\">(Read more)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide is-style-wide--1\"\/>\n\n<\/li><li class=\"wp-block-post post-575 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-nicole-melvin tag-present\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignwide is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-794e3cfa wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:40%\"><figure class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/photographers\/nicole-melvin\/where-i-am\/\" target=\"_self\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-PRESENT-scaled-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Where I am\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1;width:100%;object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-PRESENT-scaled-1.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-PRESENT-scaled-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-PRESENT-scaled-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-PRESENT-scaled-1-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-PRESENT-scaled-1-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:60%\"><div class=\"taxonomy-post_tag wp-block-post-terms has-large-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/tag\/present\/\" rel=\"tag\">PRESENT<\/a><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size:clamp(1.25rem, 1.25rem + ((1vw - 0.2rem) * 1.176), 2rem)\" class=\"wp-block-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/photographers\/nicole-melvin\/where-i-am\/\" target=\"_self\" >Where I am<\/a><\/h2>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">Navigating the present: Through me following your lead, I have succeeded. <a class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/photographers\/nicole-melvin\/where-i-am\/\">(Read more)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide is-style-wide--2\"\/>\n\n<\/li><li class=\"wp-block-post post-578 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-nicole-melvin tag-future\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignwide is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-794e3cfa wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:40%\"><figure class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/photographers\/nicole-melvin\/where-im-going\/\" target=\"_self\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-FUTURE-scaled-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Where I\u2019m Going\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1;width:100%;object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-FUTURE-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-FUTURE-scaled-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-FUTURE-scaled-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-FUTURE-scaled-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-FUTURE-scaled-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Nicole-FUTURE-scaled-1-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:60%\"><div class=\"taxonomy-post_tag wp-block-post-terms has-large-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/tag\/future\/\" rel=\"tag\">FUTURE<\/a><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size:clamp(1.25rem, 1.25rem + ((1vw - 0.2rem) * 1.176), 2rem)\" class=\"wp-block-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/photographers\/nicole-melvin\/where-im-going\/\" target=\"_self\" >Where I\u2019m Going<\/a><\/h2>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">Picturing the future: Nowhere but up, doing what I need to do to make my dreams come true. <a class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/photographers\/nicole-melvin\/where-im-going\/\">(Read more)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide is-style-wide--3\"\/>\n\n<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nicole Melvin is a 51-year-old\u00a0Jamaican-American\u00a0master chef who rebuilt her life after experiencing homelessness in Miami from October 2023 to September 2024. With a 30-year career catering prestigious events nationwide, including Art Basel and military functions, Nicole faced housing instability that led her to Miami&#8217;s streets before securing permanent housing in North Miami Beach in September [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":535,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-291","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"mb":[],"mfb_rest_fields":["title"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=291"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":789,"href":"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/291\/revisions\/789"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/matthewmarr.org\/equitablepathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}