Melanie Dominguez is the lead organizer with the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice. For Melanie, the main motivation for fighting for justice has always been her community. 

She prioritizes the need to uplift and amplify the voices of neighborhood residents who are directly impacted by the issues at hand. It is essential to her that her community members know the tremendous amount of power they hold.

As Katal’s lead community organizer, Melanie manages the organizing team, works to build the membership base, and trains new organizers. She played a key leadership role in the fight to pass New York’s historic Less Is More parole reform legislation and currently co-leads Katal’s campaign to close Rikers.

Prior to joining Katal, Melanie worked as a fellow with 350 Action and 350.org, where she played a critical role in prioritizing communities of color, which are often left out of the climate movement. She did this by conducting an outreach series not only in Queens, where she lives, but in other communities of color in New York City and beyond. In 2019, she helped organize the 9/20 Climate Strike, when thousands of students joined together to demand climate justice and was one of the state’s most significant climate actions ever. Part of what made the strike exceptional was teaching high school students across New York how to organize.

Melanie’s previous leadership roles with extracurricular clubs at John Jay College of Criminal Justice shaped how she viewed education. This experienced showed her the importance of helping build consciousness and activating students on various issues so that they can hold oppressive institutions accountable.

Melanie is a proud New Yorker and a proud Ecuadorian. She truly values her time spent with family, friends and her two Shiba Inus. In her spare time you can catch her with any if not all of them.