Melanie Andrade Williams is an enthusiastic advocate for black women, girls and
community; she got her start as a student activist when she co-founded the Dream
Defenders on the campus of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. The murder
of Trayvon Martin in 2013 spurred her to action and introduced her to the world of public
policy in Florida. She most recently served as the Black Vote Director for the Harris
Walz campaign in Florida where she flexed her unique experience as a statewide
coalition developer and constituency outreach strategist.

Melanie’s foundation is in writing, research, and analysis; she draws on years of
creative writing experience to put a creative touch on her analytical and legal writing. As
the Legislative Manager for Planned Parenthood of South, East and North Florida for
the 2022, 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions Melanie was on the front lines in the fight
for reproductive justice, abortion access and bodily autonomy in Florida. She worked as
a registered lobbyist developing strategies, tracking legislation and regulatory
rulemaking, preparing team members, volunteers and community for legislative
hearings, writing talking points, fact sheets, one pagers, and communications materials
for elected officials, stakeholders, and coalition partners. Melanie has worked in local
government, statewide advocacy, issue based campaigns, and electoral campaigns and
is well known for her facilitation, strategy development and policy analysis expertise.
Black maternal and infant health, education, criminal justice reform and voting
rights are issues that Melanie has worked on and developed a keen understanding and
passion for. She is looking forward to progressing comprehensive state policy reforms in
these areas, and more, in the State of Florida in the coming years as the Principal
Strategist of her firm MWRD Consulting.

MWRD Consulting is a boutique government affairs and strategic planning firm
that specializes in public health, community organizing and policy analysis and
development. We work on local and state issues as it relates to public health; including
maternal and infant health and reproductive and birth justice, poverty, crime and more.
We believe in taking a holistic approach to solve community issues, with impacted
people serving as the experts for our strategies. Our Principal Strategist, Melanie
Andrade Williams, has worked in public policy, politics and local government for over a
decade and has a unique perspective on building strategic coalitions to empower
organizations and local governments to transform the lives of their most vulnerable
populations.