Melissa Michaud received her undergraduate degree in political science from Brown University in 2004.  Upon graduation, she joined Teach For America and taught middle school for two years in eastern North Carolina.  In 2009, she received her law degree, with high honors, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  During law school, Ms. Michaud was a staff member and editor of the North Carolina Law Review, student lawyer in the Juvenile Justice Clinic, and member of the UNC Law Pro Bono Board.  Upon graduation, she served as a law clerk for the Honorable Louise W. Flanagan of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Prior to joining Tharrington Smith, Ms. Michaud was a trial attorney at the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Educational Opportunities Section.  There, her practice focused on enforcing civil rights statutes, such as Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, in the K-12 context.

Ms. Michaud is a public school board lawyer.