A native Staten Island resident, Melissa comes to NYC Parks & Recreation with a wealth of experience in corporate fitness & wellness management since 1997. She is a certified personal trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine, Senior & Youth Exercise Specialist, Behavior Change Specialist, also with NASM and CPR\AED certified. Melissa attended St. Joseph by the Sea High School where she was a four sport athlete (cross country, basketball, softball & soccer) and former CYO basketball coach inn conjunction with her role as a Group Fitness Instructor! All her certifications and job experiences have all played an integral role to become successful and thrive in this trending industry of Health & Fitness.
Upon college graduation from SUNY Oneonta with a BS in Food Service Management & Nutrition, Melissa was offered the chance to become a school dietitian with the Board of Education. She took the knowledge she learned from that career to become a Patient Services Director for a prestigious food service corporation called Aramark at the former Saint Vincent's Hospital for three years. Her passion of fitness became her primary career goal during those years and she was offered a position as the General Manager for the New York Sports Clubs. With the knowledge gained during her employment with TSI, she decided to take on the challenge of corporate fitness facility management for a non-profit agency, which ultimately lead to becoming the Fitness and Health Director/Wellness & Lifestyle Program Coordinator at the JCC on Staten Island for 11 years. During that time, she was featured in conjunction with the YMCA in Personal Training photos in the Staten Island Advance to target customers interested in learning new exercises and proper form. During her professional career the last 28 years working full time, she has supervised staff at multiple locations to improve customer service, empowered members, provide all levels of administrative support and provided ongoing training and mentoring.
She is an avid runner for 30 years whom is affiliated with the Staten Island Athletic Club (SIAC), Richmond Rockets, and NYRR.  She enjoys participating in the NYC Marathon, half marathons, 10Ks, 5Ks, and is well respected in local road races within the community. Melissa is the recipient of the 2022 Staten Island Triple Crown Overall female as well as the Trail Triple Crown. She has a personal best in the NYC Marathon at 3:31:30 in 2024 and the SI Half at 1:29 in 2022.
Aside for her passion of running, yoga and Pilates, her first love is her four children (ages 15 through 23) Vanessa, who graduated SUNY Oneonta in 2024 & will continue her studies to pursue a JD law degree & her oldest son Anthony, a Lincoln Tech Trade School Graduate in HVAC, Sabrina, who will play basketball for the University of Scranton, attending her sons football & basketball games at Farrell, Vincent, & family dogs Tyra Holly & Miley Diamond.
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