Melissa is a National Board Certified Teacher in Early & Middle Childhood Music (2011, renewed 2021). She has a Master of Music Education degree from NIU (2010) and a B.A. in Music Education from North Central College (2005, summa cum laude). The 2024-2025 school year is her 20th year as a professional music educator. She has 15 years of experience teaching public school music, including 14 years as a K-5 general music teacher and choral director in Naperville. Melissa is an Orff Schulwerk Certified Teacher (University of Nevada Las Vegas; 2006, 2008, 2013). She also taught group and private piano lessons for 12 years before having children, and she started up again in 2021.

Melissa is a life-long Naperville resident. She currently resides in Old Farm North with her husband and their two daughters, ages 10 and 7. "Meadow Star Music" is a tribute to their daughters' names. Melissa homeschooled her daughters 2020-2022 and utilized a variety of secular curricula with an emphasis on nature, literature, and the arts. In 2023, she also began teaching early childhood Music Together classes through Young Naperville Singers.