Having grown up in Austin, TX, the live capital music of the world, Melissa is no stranger to music.

After years of singing and tapping her way through Texas during high school, Melissa attended the University of Central Oklahoma for 2 years then graduated magna cum laude with a BFA in Musical Theatre from Sam Houston State University, emphasis in dance.

Her performances have brought her to theaters all over the country including Festival 56, Great Plains Theater and Dutch Wonderland. Favorite credits include Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden, CB’s Sister in Dog Sees God, Liesl inThe Sound of Music, and Doll Tearsheet in Shakespeare’s Henry IV. Melissa has New York City credits as Lacey Leppard in the Off-Broadway musical Piggy Nation at The Snapple Theater in Times Square, Sister Bear in The Berenstain Bears Live (Off-Broadway), Bet in Oliver, among others.

Now living in South Orange, New Jersey, Melissa is currently Director of Operations at a Midtown Manhattan music school, spending her days ensuring enrichment and arts education for both children and adults. She spends her free time learning, self-reflecting, doing puzzles and arts and crafts, and walking and playing with her pup, Zara.