Melissa is the Director of Academic Success and Bar Programs at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She received her B.S from Central Michigan University, and her J.D from New England School of Law. She focuses her research on teaching methods, including such presentations as: Tracking for the MBE: How to Help Students Identify Problem Areas and Improve (May 2016), The Middle Child Problem: How to Engage 2^nd Year Students with Active Learning (May 2019), and Putting First Gen First: Supporting First Generation Law Students through Academic Success (October 2019). She has also published bar essay writing books for California, New York and Massachusetts.

Prior to coming to Loyola University Chicago she worked in both Boston and Washington, DC. Prior to teaching, she practiced corporate and contract law.