Melanee McAfee Kistler was born and raised in Tulsa Oklahoma, where she received her undergraduate degree from the University of Tulsa, majoring in Advertising/Public Relations. She worked at Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa for four years as Editorial Assistant, working on museum publications, organizing public events, and taking minutes for a 40-member board of directors. After becoming engaged to her husband, she moved to Oklahoma City to work for the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum as Editorial Assistant. She also helped organize art sales and banquets, presenting awards with guest celebrities at the prestigious Western Heritage Awards, She embarked on a career change when her daughters were still in grade school and began attending OCU law school. She became a Certified Mediator through the Oklahoma Supreme Court Early Settlement Mediation Program, mediating small claims cases upon referral from district court judges. After law school, she worked on the Fen Phen litigation with Phillips, Murrah during the discovery phase of the complex litigation for the opt-out lawsuits. She later spent six years working for Oklahoma Child Support Services, managing an interstate caseload and taking remedies to enforce court orders. In 2012, she opened her own law firm, focusing her practice on family law and social security disability claims. In 2017, she worked as a decision writer at the Office of Hearings Operations, following Administrative Law Judges instructions in drafting final case decisions. She returned to private practice in 2018, and continues to represent claimants in social security hearings before Administrative Law Judges throughout the state. Her professional associations include membership in the Social Security disability and Estate Planning sections of the Oklahoma Bar Association. She is also involved with the Women in Law section where she participates in community service projects. She is admitted to the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. She and her husband, Steve, have been married for 35 years and have two marvelous daughters. Lindsay started her own law firm after six years as an associate attorney with Hall Estill, and Hillary is a Speech Language Pathologist for Integris and Norman Regional Health System.