Mary Melton is an award-winning writer, editor, and podcaster based in Los Angeles who runs an editorial consultancy firm, Smakdab. She is Editor-at-Large for Alta Journal, the quarterly publication about California and the West, and she serves as Editorial Director at the design-strategy firm Godfrey Dadich Partners. During her long tenure as Editor-in-Chief of Los Angeles magazine, she led the team to 12 National Magazine Award nominations and three wins. She also served as Vice President/Editorial Director for the company’s publishing group, overseeing the editorial direction, redesigns, and digital relaunches of Texas Monthly, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Orange Coast magazines.