She completed her BSN at the University of North Florida. She began her nursing career in Pediatrics at Wolfson Children’s Hospital. Melissa moved on to become a Senior Research Coordinator at Nemours Children’s Clinic focusing on pediatric asthma. Melissa is a native of the Arlington neighborhood in Jacksonville Florida and returned to the area to complete her MSN and MBA at Jacksonville University. Melissa joined JU from her leadership position as the Director of Service Excellence, responsible for training focused on patient satisfaction, at Orange Park Medical Center.