Melanie Browne (Committee)

-The Cheese Making Workshop

Melanie has flourished within tourism, hospitality and retail for her entire working life – more than two decades. As co-manager of Coffs’s Harbour’s award-winning Cheesemaking Workshop & Deli, she comes face-to-face with thousands of customers a year – locals, tourists and overnight visitors.

She won Young Entrepreneur at this year’s Sunny’s Business Awards for her role in creating this unique Coffs business success story.

Extensively-travelled, Mel is a born and bred Coffs local, who returned to the area after several years spent living in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Western Australia and Canada – with trips to the UK, Asia, Mexico and the United States in between.

Her love of the Coffs Coast and its unique offering to visitors and locals alike is matched by her passion for sustainable tourism. Embracing the region’s new wave of growth and progressive thinking, Melanie is committed to steering it in a direction that simultaneously recognises and nurtures the charm of the Coffs community, as well as the importance of showcasing it to visitors.

Her recent five years living and working in the world-class ski resort Whistler, Canada, has given her a deep appreciation of cutting-edge tourism practices within a driven, sustainability-focused community. She brings this breadth of experience and international perspective to her role on the Chamber.

Melanie is also an active member of the Coffs Coast Food Collective, an advisory group which connects the region’s top food growers, producers and restaurateurs and is committed to actively promoting the Coffs Coast as a national food-tourism destination.