The Driver's Seat Twitter Campaign: Melissa

In The Driver’s Seat of the Westport Twitter account for the next two weeks is Melissa, who is based at Westport head office in Vancouver, Canada.

In her role as program manager for the High Horsepower development team focused on rail at Westport, Melissa is currently focused on managing the design and development of an LNG tender car for use with natural gas locomotives in North America. This finds her travelling fairly often to meet with partners on decisions on the project.

New to Twitter herself, she says, “My only experience with Twitter was in 2009 when my husband decided he would tweet the birth of my second child.  It actually ended up being a good way of making our far-flung friends and family feel a part of the experience.”

When Melissa is not working, she may be found with her family – she has two children – or back home in Ontario, checking out GlobeandMail.com or interior design website Houzz.com for great ideas, or indeed eating.

Melissa says she loves food and it is very difficult to pick a favourite cuisine. “I like it all: Indian, Italian, Mexican, etc.  Although a night at Vancouver hotspot Vij’s Restaurant for some fantastic Indian fusion or a fresh caprese salad are high on my list!” Her indulgence is, in her words, “Wine, chocolate, as previously mentioned, food.  I wish I just had one favourite, but alas there are many.”

When asked who she would dine with, if she could choose anyone alive or dead, real or fictional, it is Melissa’s grandmother that she names. “She passed away many years ago and I miss the dinners we used to share at her table, which were often followed by long card games.” Being much younger when she lost her grandmother, Melissa says, “I failed to appreciate all the history she embodied and if we had one more dinner together, I would be sure to fill our conversation with questions about her life, in particular her time in the Air Force during the second World War.”


As mentioned, Westporters are taking turns in The Driver's Seat of our Twitter account (@WestportDotCom). To date we've heard from Nick S, Caroline S, John L & John H, Astrid Z, Lance F, Monica F, Fabio, Nicole, Ronghuan, Maureen, Manoj and Mats and Tomas.