Melissa has a BA in Political Science from the UW, a Masters in Education from WWU and a Masters in History from American University in Washington D.C. Melissa has coached since 1994 when she first volunteered as a coach for the Western Washington University Intramural Swim Team. When she got her first teaching job at Tyee High School in SeaTac, WA, Melissa coached both the girls’ and boys’ swim teams, from which she was voted the Seamont League Boys’ Swimming Coach of the Year in 1999. In 2003 she got back into coaching by assisting the KW boys’ swim team, and the following year she took over as the head coach.