Melanie Notkin is America’s premier Savvy Auntie, empowering the nearly 50% of American women who are not moms to celebrate all they do for the children in their lives, while living their own lives to the fullest.  She launched SavvyAuntie.com, the first online community for aunts and godmothers, in the summer of 2008 to wide-acclaim. The website includes expert content designed specifically for aunts, activities, community and trendy gift ideas.

Melanie identified this influential segment of women, which she has dubbed PANKs (Professional Aunts No Kids), when she herself became an aunt. In February 2009, she guest posted for Lisa Belkin’s parenting blog in The New York Times to explain the value of aunts and godmothers in family life. The term has also appeared in More Magazine, Washington Post,  The Star Ledger, and on NPR among others. On July 26, 2009, she launched Auntie’s Day(R), the first national holiday to honor aunts and aunt-hood. The third annual Auntie’s Day took place on Sunday, July 24, 2011.

As child lifestyle expert and tastemaker, Auntie Melanie has been featured numerous times on CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, CW, FOX News and Better TV showcasing the coolest kid trends of the season. She was also contributing editor at Toy Wishes Magazine and serves on the Toy Industry Association Toy of the Year Nomination Committee.

Thank you Melanie….I just love this page so much.I look forward to it everyday.These children are worth the effort being made for them.Your support is awesome. Thanks again. – Lynn Medina, CA (Facebook.com/SavvyAuntie)

She has worked with leading kid brands like Hasbro, Disney, Hallmark, Yoplait, Sprout, Scholastic, and brands for women including Warner Brothers Sex and the City Movie, Turner Networks/TNT, JCPenney, Tropicana, BeyondTheRack.com and BareNecessities.com. Her groundbreaking and effective advertising campaigns have been featured in Mashable.com, The New York Times, Advertising Age and The Wall Street Journal where she’s been lauded as a ‘trusted source’ and spokesperson for America’s top brands.

SavvyAuntie.com was 2009 Webby Award nominee for Best Family/Parenting site and is a Springwise.com Top 10 Lifestyle and Leisure Business Idea for 2008. In 2011 it was named a Forbes Top 100 Sites for Women. Melanie was featured on Mashable.com’s list of top 5 start ups in New York City’s social media hub. Her first book: SAVVY AUNTIE: The Ultimate Guide for Cool Aunts, Great-Aunts, Godmothers and All Women Who Love Kids (HarperCollins) debuted on April 26, 2011 and is a Wall Street Journal national best-seller.

I just wanted to say thank you for having created this community for aunts. I don’t have children of my own yet, but I absolutely adore my 3 nephews. Your site and insight (pun intended!) encourage me in my role as a supportive aunt. My sister is a great mom, but I love being there to help, too. And I love being able to rant and rave about my boys, so your discussion posts give me that chance with other women who love their little ones just as much! – M. Heath,(Facebook.com/SavvyAuntie)

As a successful business woman, she was a regular panelist on FOX News’ Strategy Room Business Hour. She also lectures at various conferences inspiring women, students and entrepreneurs on launching the business of their dreams. She’s been featured on First30Days.com, Business Week and Huffington Post for her leveraging of social media to launch and grow her business. She’s now a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and PsychologyToday.com.

Before developing Savvy Auntie, Melanie was an interactive marketing and communications executive for global Fortune 500 companies, including New York Times Digital and American Express, as well as L’Oréal. She is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal, Canada where she was born.

She is a Savvy Auntie and Auntie by Relation (ABR) to a number of wonderful children who are the loves of her life. She is also an Auntie By Choice (ABC) to all of her friends’ kids, who come in a very close second. Melanie resides in New York where she is surrounded by the very best the City has to offer.

You can find Melanie at Twitter.com/SavvyAuntie, Facebook.com/SavvyAuntie ,Youtube.com/SavvyAuntie and of course SavvyAuntie.com.

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  • 5sullys

    This girl could be my twin! Weird!

  • Loot101

    Your article on HuffPo was so nice and took a lot of courage to write. I have a ton of friends in the same bracket (late 30s, early – mid 40s, no kids, wish they had them) and this is definitely the elephant room – the terror we all face but never want to acknowledge. I blame it on men who don’t want to commit bc they think they can wait till their 40s or 50s and get a 25 -30 yo. Anyway, thanks for sharing.

  • Lovefish

    why would and man in if 50s want a 25-30 year old when he could have a 21 year old?

  • Lovefish

    Lovefish 0 minutes ago why would and man in if 50s want a 25-30 year old when he could have a 21 year old?

  • Jim Porson

    It’s easy to read your face. You are uncomfortable among people. Also, you cant hide it. 

About Melanie

 
Featured in: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, Ad Age, Business Week, Mashable, More Magazine, Elle Italy, HollywoodLife.com, AOL, The Huffington Post, NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, WPIX, NPR, BBC, and many more....
The Savvy Auntie Book