Melody Godfred ’96: Legal Expert, Writing Entrepreneur, Women Empowerer

Godfred is the proud owner and CEO of Write In Color, a career branding and development company, and Fred & Far, a jewelry business that empowers women to be true to themselves. A graduate of USC with a double major in business administration and music industry, she matriculated to Loyola Law School, graduating magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, a national honor society for law students in the top 10 percent of their class.

To hone her research, writing and editing skills, Godfred began her career working for a prestigious law firm. Surrounded by endless stacks of black and white ink on paper, she dreamed up the idea of a vibrant and dynamic writing service that could bring text to life. Write In Color began as a blog and quickly grew to include ghostwriting, freelance editing, career branding, resume writing and LinkedIn optimization services.

Godfred left the law firm in 2009 to pursue her writing career full-time, completing her first book in 2011. Her experience as an attorney in politics and entertainment served as the inspiration for her debut novel, The Agency: Hollywood Talent, CIA Managed.

At Sinai Akiba, Godfred remembers two teachers who helped forge her identity as a shaper of prose. Donna Kerman encouraged her to embrace creative writing in second grade, at the tender age of 7. Her fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. Stein, nurtured her love of reading. “Mrs. Stein enabled me to build a core element of my identity. She also had this incredible way of treating us, as if we were worthy of engaging in conversation.”

Today, Godfred’s writing skills instill confidence in clients around the world. Write In Color has become the number one-rated career building company in LA and serves customers in South America, the United Kingdom and beyond. Fred & Far – her other business – complements beautiful jewelry designs with content, published on a daily basis, that “explores the ideas of self-awareness, self-care and self-love.”

Godfred is a daughter of Sinai Temple lay leader and former development director Jackie Ahdout. Now a mother herself (with a third on the way), she is dedicated to teaching her own daughters to express themselves through writing, art and dance – and to doing the same for women across the globe.

Looking back on her time at Sinai Akiba, Godfred says it was a gift. “What was felt in the community was felt in the classroom,” she recalls. “It was a pure feeling of camaraderie centered around Judaism, with an emphasis on values like curiosity, creativity, respect for students and teachers and being a mensch.” Godfred hopes to pass these values down to her children through religious school, community involvement and, hopefully, a Sinai Akiba education.