Meet the Team at New Teacher Coach
Dr. Amanda Melsby
Amanda is a lifelong educator and co-founder of New Teacher Coach. She passionately believes that we can advance education and improve student learning outcomes by prioritizing teacher success.
You might classify her as the mother-ing type. Always there to offer support and encouragement, her optimism lifts those around her. That is balanced by her love of organization and her detail-oriented nature, which keeps everyone on track.
She was an English teacher for 10 years before moving into school administration. In her role as Assistant Principal and later as high school Principal, Amanda recognized the importance of teacher advocacy. Her desire to support teachers prompted a move to her current role as a Dean of Teaching and Learning where she focuses exclusively on the teaching faculty.
Her areas of expertise include:
- Teacher growth and development
- Tailoring professional development to the needs of the faculty in the building
- Creating and implementing a supportive, practical new-teacher program
Amanda holds a teaching credential, an administrative credential, a master’s in Educational Administration, and an Ed.D. in Educational Practice and Leadership. She lives in western New York and loves exploring the northeast with Brad and their very naughty cocker spaniel, Sunny.
Brad Melsby
Brad is a professional educator and co-founder of New Teacher Coach. He has over 19 years of teaching experience.
As an athlete back in college, he learned two important lessons. First: strive to continually improve your game. Second: understand that failure plays an important role in ultimately achieving success. Brad believes that both ideas are highly relevant for new teachers.
Brad has taught Social Studies in middle and high school since 2002. When he was starting as a teacher, he was fortunate to be surrounded by supportive mentors. For Brad, the generosity and wisdom of those mentors were integral as he found his footing in the classroom.
With an eye on giving back, Brad has partnered with five student-teachers over the years – an experience he finds incredibly rewarding. He is passionate about helping today’s new teachers find success.
His areas of expertise include:
- Classroom management
- Educational technology
- Inquiry-based learning
Brad holds teaching credentials in both California and New York. He also has a master’s in Educational Technology. He enjoys traveling and getting out into nature in western New York with Amanda and, of course, Sunny.
