MELANIE CAMPBELL is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Inc. a non-profit, nonpartisan civic engagement organization, based in Washington, D.C. In 2000, she was recognized as one of Washington D.C.'s Top Forty Under Forty Emerging Leaders. Some of her most rewarding accomplishments at the National Coalition have been creating an innovative, youth-focused leadership development program, Black Youth Vote!, convening the Voices of the Electorate National Election Reform Task Force and serving as a lead trainer in 1996 for the West African Women's Colloquium in Ghana, West Africa. Melanie has worked on several political campaigns including: Bill Clinton for President, Jesse Jackson for President, and Andrew Young for Mayor. She serves on the Board of the Black Leadership Forum, a confederation of the leaders of the 21 top African-American civil rights and service organizations. She is a contributing writer in the recently released book, /The Paradox of Loyalty: African Americans Respond to the War on Terrorism/. She holds a BA in Business Administration and Finance from Clark Atlanta University.