Melissa Lau is a high school environmental science and biology teacher at Piedmont High School in Piedmont, Oklahoma, with 25 years of experience. In 2018, Lau was selected as a PolarTREC educator and spent 32 days on the North Slope of Alaska working with Dr. Oberbauer and his research team from Florida International University studying phenology and vegetation change in the warming Arctic. 

Lau was also a member of the writing team for Oklahoma Academic Standards-Science revisions in 2019, Oklahoma Framework revisions in 2021, and partners with the Oklahoma State Department of Education curriculum pilot program. She also serves as a National Center for Science Education Teacher Ambassador, curriculum writer, and professional development facilitator and on the board of Oklahomans for Excellence in Science Education.