Melissa is a native of Montgomery County. She lived in Towson for 17 years and returned to the area in 2002. She has a Bachelor of Science in microbiology from Towson University and after graduation conducted research at Johns Hopkins University. Before joining the SRS staff in 2009, she taught biology at Towson Catholic High School. Melissa and her husband, Jim, have six children, including St. Raphael School alumni Tess (SRS '16) and Conor (SRS '18).