Melissa Bellamy was raised in the Borough of Manville, attending Christ the King School and Manville High School. She grew up in a civic-minded family, with her father Al Palfy serving as Mayor and on Borough Council and her mother Anne active in many causes, including as a lifetime member of the Manville Rescue Squad Auxiliary. Her parents' examples of community service guided her professional and personal life.

For the past two years, Melissa has been a member of the Recreation Commission and volunteers at various recreation events throughout the year. As the Deputy Coordinator of the Manville Municipal Alliance Committee (MAC), she wrote the current five-year plan and helped reorganize this committee that addresses the dangers of substance abuse in the community and qualifies the Borough to receive grant funding from the county.

Melissa has worked in municipal and county government for over 30 years and has been employed by Middlesex County since 2006. She is currently the Division Head of the Division of Housing, Community Development and Social Services and serves as the Executive Director of the Middlesex County Public Housing Agency overseeing a budget of over $11M annually while managing a dozen staff members.

Melissa received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The College of New Jersey and a Master of Public Administration from Kean University.

She is a communicant of St. Joseph Church in Bound Brook, where she serves as a lector. She also volunteers with various ministries at Bound Brook Presbyterian Church, where her husband Keith serves as an Elder, including leading youth mission trips to repair homes in Appalachia and playing in the Handbell Choir. Other volunteer work includes assisting at local food pantries and with HOME of Somerset County.

Melissa and Keith have been married for 18 years, having first met when they joined the same SCUBA club and would enjoy diving the many shipwrecks off the Jersey coast together. She is a proud stepmom to her adult son, Nicholas. The Bellamys enjoy traveling and seeing sights whether they are above or below the water and experiencing different cultures, both in the US and abroad.

Melissa decided to run for Borough Council because she believes her work experience, education and commitment to service can help Manville meet its challenges, while still maintaining the Borough as a great place to live for its residents of all ages both now and in the near future.