Mell is active in gay-rights and political causes. She rose to national prominence for her arrest during a protest for marriage rights. Mell runs unchallenged for a state rep post in the 2008 general election. She is expected to become the first open lesbian to win a state legislative position. The daughter of Ald. Dick Mell, she was partly the reason her father had a change of heart on gay rights. She has worked with Christy Webber Landscapes.