Melissa Blossom joined NIET as a senior specialist for Indiana after serving at the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) as assistant director of secondary curriculum, then director of school improvement. At IDOE, Melissa made significant changes to how the department provided support to the field. These included going on site weekly to offer free evidence-based training for teachers and leaders, starting the first IDOE podcast for school leaders, and authoring the #INspireEDleaders newsletter with a subscriber list of over 6,000 educators.

Prior to IDOE, Melissa worked as a social studies teacher at Marian High School for four years, then transitioned into administration quickly as assistant principal for seven and one-half years. Facing state takeover, Marian High School partnered with NIET. As a result, the school grew from an F to A in three years on Indiana's accountability model. After celebrating a significant school turn at Marion High School, Melissa accepted her first principalship at Blackford Junior High School in Hartford City, Indiana.

Melissa started her career as a juvenile probation officer after graduating from Ball State University. Her love  for working with at-risk students compelled her to return to Ball State to obtain her teaching license and master's in secondary education.