A native Houstonian and advocate for change and social justice, Melanie Maspero has spent her career serving underprivileged communities, particularly through education and non-profit settings.

Melanie has put her ideas to work in many transformational spaces such as consulting at The Holdsworth Center and at Teach for America Houston, where she served as senior managing director of community and alumni partnerships.  Previously, Melanie worked as head of school and spent two years as a founding school director at YES Prep Public Schools.

Melanie double majored in English Literature and African-American studies at Columbia University while participating in internships within the helping profession. She holds an MBA and principal certification from the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University. She has also completed a master’s degree in counseling and is pursuing a doctorate from the University of Houston through their Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). She is a certified Licensed Professional Counselor Associate and has counseled for Brighter & Brighter since 2017 and consulted since inception in 2013.

Melanie channels her experiences leading in education to working with children, youth and college students, as well as facilitating individual, family, couples and pre-marital counseling.  Outside of work, you will find her singing, writing, cooking or working her eye for interior design.