School First
Melissa Bamberg, M.S. Ed.
Education Consultant
After spending 10 years working in and leading admission and enrollment teams in the San Francisco Bay Area, I am eager to support families in the search for the right-match school with School First. I have a deep commitment to student success and look forward to helping students find their next school community.
I have dedicated my career to supporting students throughout the admission and enrollment process, creating experiences for families to best understand the school communities I have served. In my time as Associate Director of Admission and Tuition Assistance at Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton, I specialized in working with both local and expat families relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area across preschool through 12th grade. I have also served as a member of the founding admission team at Avenues The World School’s Silicon Valley campus. As Associate Director of Admission and Grade-Level Dean, I designed and implemented the first admission process for new families across lower, middle, and upper divisions and served students all over the world through the online program. I most recently have had the pleasure of leading the team at Hillbrook School as the Director of Enrollment Management during the opening of their new upper school campus in San Jose, CA.
In addition to my work at independent schools across the San Francisco Bay Area, I had the pleasure of serving as a board member and regional representative for the Bay Area Directors of Admission (BADA), collaborating with over 110 independent schools across that region to ensure positive admission experiences for families and contribute to the governance and growth of the organization.
I am a Bay Area native and currently live in the South Bay with my husband, daughter, and two cats. As a mom of a preschooler, I am even more excited to begin in the school search arena for families seeking a school community to support their child’s needs and success. As an active member in my community and a lifelong learner, it brings me great joy to serve as a member of the Board of Directors for my alma mater, Notre Dame High School, and the Santa Clara University Alumni Association. As a former NCAA Division I water polo player, I also enjoy coaching middle and high school water polo for a preschool through 12th grade independent school on the Peninsula.