Background
Melissa joined NASA in 2009 as a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow, and was hired on shortly after as a Physical Research Scientist studying the carbon cycle and making in-situ measurements of Greenhouse gases and trace gases from NASA aircraft. In 2004, Melissa was selected for a detail as the Radiation Budget Instrument Deputy Program Manager. RBI was a space-based scanning radiometer instrument that is capable of measuring Earth’s reflected sunlight and emitted thermal radiation. In 2015, Melissa was selected as Program Director for the National Suborbital Research Center. Melissa provided science operations support for NASA aircraft, and management of the Student Airborne Research Program. In 2020, Melissa was appointed the EVS Mission Manager and the Deputy Airborne Science Program Director, with a focus on Earth Science. In these roles, Melissa helped define the airborne science program from the perspective of the science community needs and managed all the suborbital aircraft missions at NASA. In January 2024, Melissa joined the Earth Action team as the Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition Program Manager.
Melissa received a PhD in atmospheric chemistry from the University of California, Irvine. She also received a BS degree in chemistry from Drew University.