After graduating Summa Cum Laude with honors from the University of Massachusetts, Melinda attended St. John’s School of Law and authored for the Legal Journal.

Upon earning her law degree, Melinda interned for then-Judge (and future US Attorney General) Michael Mukasey for the Southern District of NY, and interned with the US Attorney’s office in the Southern District of NY. She later served as an adjunct professor of constitutional law at Queens College.

In her five years as an Assemblymember, Melinda authored and passed crucial legislation, including the first bill to extend the Statute of Limitations for sexual abuse of a child, a law that increased to a felony certain classes of endangerment of the welfare of a child (Keindl’s law) and created legislation that provided women direct access to gynecological services by a doctor.

As a member of the New York City Council, Melinda served as Chair of the key Land Use Committee, using her legal foundation to steward major projects and work with communities and the administration to pull NYC out from the economic downturn that occurred after 2001.

Melinda has extensive experience in private practice, working as an associate for Weil Gotshal and a shareholder of Greenberg Traurig, a position she held until her election as the 19th Borough President of Queens.

In her current role as Queens Borough President, Melinda is partnering with communities to partake in the new law allowing individuals with two misdemeanors or a non-violent felony and misdemeanor that were over ten years ago, to seal their convictions and worked with the District Attorney on warrant forgiveness in order to promote second chances.