[1] He joined the Whistler ski patrol and started a stonemasonry business, which he ran while raising his two sons, Dillon and Jesse, with his wife, Uschi.
[7][8][9] In 1996, he was elected to municipal council and gained recognition for scrutinizing large-scale developments and articulating the long-term implications of re-zoning.
[10] In 1999, Melamed became a founding director of Smart Growth BC, where he worked on solutions for affordable housing,[11][12] agricultural land preservation, and climate change.
[15] Melamed is best known for his negotiations during the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, which the Resort Municipality of Whistler co-hosted with the City of Vancouver.
[2][25][26] Melamed won the Green Party nomination to run for Member of Parliament in West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country in the 2015 federal election.