Melissa McGrath is CCSSO’s Chief of Staff and oversees the Council’s Member Services, Leadership, Communications, Federal Relations and National Teacher of the Year Program. As Chief of Staff, Melissa is tasked with keeping her pulse on key work across the organization, advising the Chief Executive Officer and senior leadership on critical changes in the education policy landscape and proactively identifying opportunities to advance CCSSO’s reach, both internally and externally.

Melissa joined CCSSO in 2014 and previously served as the Director of Communications where she was responsible for developing and executing the Council's strategic communications. In that role, she also worked with communications directors in each state education agency to provide resources and support to them as they communicated throughout their states about education priorities. Prior to joining the organization, she spent more than seven years as the Communications Director for the Idaho State Department of Education. Melissa holds bachelor’s degrees in Journalism and Government and Politics from the University of Maryland. She holds an Executive MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flager Business School.