Melissa Brown brings deep education experience, both as a lawyer and school district administrator. She focuses primarily on employee and labor relations, including collective bargaining, sensitive personnel matters and investigations, discipline, and other issues arising throughout the employee life cycle. She also guides clients through emerging challenges, such as declining enrollment and its impact on staffing, leaves of absence and reasonable accommodation, and the practical considerations involved in supporting employees while maintaining the workforce necessary to serve students. Melissa is available for client trainings on a variety of employment matters including anti-harassment, CANRA, leaves of absence, and disability accommodations processes. Finally, she can assist with governance and board matters, student issues and California Public Records Act matters.

Previously serving as Director of Human Resources for the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District, Melissa experienced firsthand the challenges education leaders face, from recruiting and retaining high-quality personnel, to navigating complex personnel matters, charter school petitions and board changes. This is where she also first met lawyers from F3 Law, witnessing their high quality work and dedication.

Before joining the district, Melissa spent more than a decade (most recently, as Assistant General Counsel) assisting clients with labor and employment issues through the KCSOS/Schools Legal Service (SLS), a public education legal services consortium administered by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools. Thrilled to be actively practicing law again, Melissa is available as a resource and looks forward to possibly reconnecting with old clients and friends, in her new capacity and with the resources of F3 Law behind her.

Melissa’s connection to public education runs deep. She has longstanding roots in Kern County and the broader San Joaquin Valley and comes from a family of educators, including a father and grandfather who served as local superintendents.