Dr. Melissa Maranville
Dr. Melissa Maranville is a forensic investigative consultant, expert witness, and researcher, as well as the founder of DeVille and Associates and DeVille Academy. Her work sits at the intersection of digital forensics, child protection, and institutional accountability, where she examines how technological and systemic failures allow exploitation, trafficking, and sexual violence to persist.
She is also a survivor of child exploitation, an experience that shaped both her purpose and her path. Rather than allowing that trauma to define her, Dr. Maranville chose to transform it into education, earning her doctorate and building a career dedicated to protecting others and holding systems accountable.
With a PhD focused on systemic gaps in the sex offender registry and law enforcement response, she brings an evidence-based forensic lens to some of society’s most complex crimes. As a forensic investigative consultant and expert witness, she works with law firms on complex cases involving digital evidence, exploitation networks, and institutional failures. She also trains law enforcement and investigative professionals in dark web investigations, cryptocurrency tracing, and open source intelligence.
What sets Dr. Maranville apart is her system-level approach. She does not focus only on individual offenders, but on the policies, data systems, and investigative gaps that allow exploitation to continue undetected. Through consulting, training, and public speaking, she is helping to reshape how these crimes are understood and addressed.
Named January’s Most Influential Woman, Dr. Maranville is recognized for her leadership in advancing safety, accountability, and justice for women and children.
• PhD
• PhD
• Psi Chi
• American Society of Forensic Psychology
• Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Inititiative (ATII)
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to turning lived experience into purpose and education. As a survivor of child exploitation, I learned early what it feels like when systems fail. Instead of letting that define me, I chose to pursue advanced education and build a career focused on exposing those failures and creating change. Earning my doctorate gave me the tools to turn personal truth into evidence based work that institutions must take seriously. I also credit my success to persistence and the willingness to build my own platform when existing systems were not ready for the work I was doing.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received was to stop asking for permission to do meaningful work. When you see a gap that matters, especially one that affects people’s safety and lives, you do not wait for approval. You build what is missing. That advice is what led me to earn my doctorate, launch my own firm, and create platforms that allow me to do the work in the way it needs to be done.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Take your intelligence seriously and do not let anyone make you smaller to fit their comfort. This field needs women who are analytical, ethical, and courageous. Invest in your education, learn how technology and data really work, and never be afraid to ask hard questions. Just as important, protect your boundaries. You can be compassionate without being exploited and strong without becoming hardened. Your voice, your insight, and your integrity are what will make you invaluable.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges today is the speed at which technology evolves compared to how slowly institutions adapt. Predators exploit encrypted platforms, the dark web, cryptocurrency, and fragmented data systems faster than traditional investigative and protective frameworks can keep up. That creates blind spots that cost time, evidence, and sometimes safety.
At the same time, that challenge is also our greatest opportunity. We now have tools, open source intelligence methods, and collaborative data strategies that can outpace those threats, but only if we invest in training, cross-disciplinary expertise, and system-level thinking. The opportunity lies in empowering investigators, attorneys, and advocates with real technical knowledge so they can detect, analyze, and disrupt harmful networks earlier and more effectively. Closing that gap between technology and institutional response isn’t just a professional imperative... it’s a moral one.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity, accountability, and compassion. Integrity means telling the truth even when it is uncomfortable. Accountability means refusing to let systems or people hide behind excuses when harm occurs. And compassion keeps the work human. In both my professional and personal life, those values guide how I show up, how I treat others, and how I decide what is worth fighting for. At the end of the day, success means very little if it is not rooted in honesty, responsibility, and care for others.
Milestone Moments
Passing my dissertation defense was more than an academic milestone. It was the moment I proved to myself that lived experience, when paired with education and persistence, can become real, lasting change. This chapter represents years of research, resilience, and a commitment to protecting others through evidence, not silence.
Locations
DeVille & Associates, LLC
576 Foothills Plaza Drive, #115, Maryville, TN