Meet the Staff

Education:
Ph.D. – The University of Akron
MS – The University of Akron
MA – The University of Akron
BS – Kent State University

Passions:
Family
Education and Learning
Reading and Music

Background:
Melissa grew up in a small suburb of Akron, Ohio. She obtained her teaching certificate in elementary education and landed a fourth grade position at the same school she attended as a child. Her passion for education prompted her to continue on to earn a MS in Educational Leadership and a MA in Instructional Technology. Throughout both programs, Melissa focused her research on effective learning communities. She continued on at the University of Akron to obtain her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a research focus on summer learning loss and the achievement gap.

 

After spending ten years teaching at the elementary level and four years teaching at the university level, Melissa began to explore other opportunities for personal and professional growth. She has spent the last ten years in the educational publishing field. Melissa takes pride in her classroom roots and has utilized those valuable experiences in various research, product development, and marketing positions throughout her career. She has authored and co-authored over ten resource books for teachers. She has also developed several online communities as vehicles for teachers to learn from and share teaching ideas and strategies with one another. She has a particular interest in social media and has enjoyed developing her skills in that area.