Biography:
Melissa comes from a long line of Howard County farmers and grew up on a beef cattle farm in Cooksville in the western end of the county. Each year her summers were highlighted by the Howard County and Maryland State Fairs where she and her two brothers exhibited their steer, heifer and hog projects as part of the Daisy Agriculture 4-H club. 

Melissa attended local public schools and graduated from Glenelg High School in 1986. She played varsity field hockey and at the time, was the only female to play lacrosse in Howard County. Since no girls' team had been established yet, Melissa tried out for, and made, the mens' squad. Melissa was also involved in Students Helping Other People (S.H.O.P. - a volunteer student organization aimed at reducing teenage drinking and driving) and was the Sophomore Class President. 

College:
Melissa attended Western Maryland College, in Westminster, MD, majoring in Political Science and History. She also received a scholarship from the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant upon graduating. 

During her senior year, Melissa was selected to serve as an intern for Maryland Senator John (Jack) Derr, R-Frederick, and worked on numerous agricultural and land use issues. 

In college, Melissa was initiated into both Pi Gamma Mu, the Social Science Honor Society, and Alpha Psi Omega, the Dramatic Arts Honor Society. Melissa appeared in five theater productions, including Tartuffe by Moliere and The Dutchman by LeRoi Jones.

Military Service:
After graduation, Melissa attended the Military Police Officer Basic Course at Fort McClellan, AL, before her assignment to the 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, NC. As a platoon leader, Melissa twice led her soldiers to Panama for law enforcement missions in the wake of “Operation Just Cause.” 

As a First Lieutenant, Melissa deployed to Haiti in 1994 in support of President Aristide’s return during “Operation Uphold Democracy.” She served as the security coordinator for the entire Port au Prince International Airport for all forces serving in the operation.  Melissa also served in Cairo, Egypt, during “Exercise Bright Star” as a Liaison Officer to the Egyptian Army. 

Melissa and her husband, David, married in 1994 while both were stationed at Fort Bragg. David initially served in the 82nd Airborne Division as an Infantry Officer, before deciding to attend the Special Forces Qualification Course and becoming a “Green Beret.”  David is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY. 

Command:
As a Captain, Melissa commanded the U.S. Army Garrison Military Police Company at Fort Bragg, providing security and law enforcement to a community of over 150,000 people. She developed community based policing programs, established school liaison officers, instituted a “tips” hotline and established one of the first Army Anti-Gang Task Forces to combat the growing threat from criminal gangs. With over 140 soldiers, she commanded such diverse sections as a 22-dog K9 section, a Drug Suppression Team, a Special Reaction Force, Traffic Accident Reconstructionists, Investigators, a community Bike Patrol.  

Anti-Terrorism Officer:
Dave and Melissa were next assigned to Stuttgart, Germany, where Melissa became the Anti-Terrorism Officer for the southern portion of Germany. She worked with German Police and International Relief Agencies to coordinate emergency responses and was responsible for 6 military installations with roughly 40,000 people. She wrote the Weapons of Mass Destruction Response Plan and the Consequence Management Plan for the European Command Headquarters and personally held community meetings for the Department of Defense Schools (DoDS) in her areas to raise individual awareness about the potential dangers while living abroad. Melissa conducted “response rehearsals” and coordinated with every single agency that had a part in the protection plans. She required every agency to update and rehearse their individual plans every six months – something not required by the regulations but vastly important to our security overseas. 

She also worked as a counter-terrorism analyst, learning to assess critical infrastructure for vulnerabilities and built defenses for them. She attended training in the United Kingdom at RAF Molesworth’s Joint Analysis Center to understand the intelligence support required for the continuing war on terror. 

Life after the Army:
After leaving active duty as a Major, Melissa worked for ACS-Defense, based in Wakefield, MA, while David attended the Harvard Business School. She conducted numerous anti-terrorism assessments on such national infrastructure as municipal drinking water systems, critical bridge and highway networks, flood control dams, airports, mass-transit systems, and large scale office complexes. After conducting the assessments, Melissa and her team built plans using available resources to protect those facilities, including the best technologies, procedures, manpower, and response forces.  

Melissa volunteered as a mentor at Just-a-Start House, a shelter for homeless teenage mothers in Somerville, MA. The program was designed to give support to parenting teens while exposing them to positive influences that they would not otherwise experience. During her time with the program, Melissa’s mentee worked to earn her GED, learned life skills required for independent living and learned to advocate on her own behalf.

Law School/Legal Education: 
Melissa was accepted to the George Washington University Law School and entered as a 1L in the fall of 2003. Melissa served as: Clerk for the GW chapter of the international legal fraternity, Phi Delta Phi - devoted to ethics in the legal profession, Treasurer for the Animal Welfare Legal Reform Organization and Fundraising chair for the Military Law Society. Upon returning home to Maryland, Melissa also returned to assisting her father and family on their 200-acre family farm in Cooksville.  

During the summer of 2004, Melissa interned for the County Attorney’s Office for Montgomery County. She participated in several trials and conducted research on a variety of legislative issues concerning safety, the environment and Medicare. Melissa was selected by her Law School to be one of only two students to argue an actual case being heard by the Military Court of Appeals under their community outreach program. She appeared before the Court for oral argument and received accolades from the Court and sitting Judges.  

Melissa graduated in May and sat for the Maryland Bar Exam in July.

Army Reserves:
Melissa still serves in the Army Reserves, stationed as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) at Fort Dietrick, MD. Her individual military awards include two Meritorious Service Medals, two Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, and the Overseas Service Ribbon.