Melissa was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, completed her education in Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University, and is now settled in beautiful Sonoma County. As an educator for over ten years, she loved accompanying young people on their journeys and supporting them through educational technology, service learning, and social-emotional programming. Although her role at yli is not directly with youth, she is passionate about supporting yli’s program teams and their incredible work building a more just society for all.
In her free time, Melissa loves hiking, dog training, and spending time with her husband and son.