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Melanie Dominguez

Organizing Director, New York

Melanie Dominguez is the New York Organizing Director at the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice. Melanie’s drive to fight for justice has always been rooted in her community. Growing up in Washington Heights—a neighborhood made up of a vibrant, diverse community of people of color and migrant families—she became aware at an early age of the racial inequalities that exist in society. 

To challenge these oppressive systems, she prioritizes uplifting and amplifying the voices of community members who are directly impacted by social issues. She believes it’s essential that people understand the tremendous power they hold, not just as individuals but as part of a collective to change and shift oppressive policies and systems.

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As Katal’s Organizing Director, Melanie manages the organizing team, works to build the membership base, develops strong leaders, 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 shut down the Rikers Island Jail Complex. Additionally, she has developed strategies to expand Katal’s outreach efforts through door-knocking and phone banking, which have helped raise awareness among thousands of New Yorkers about the crisis at Rikers– and mobilized them to take action to hold the city accountable.

Before joining Katal in the fall of 2020, Melanie worked as a fellow with 350 Action and 350.org, where she played a critical role in prioritizing communities of color—who are often overlooked in the climate movement. She conducted a series of outreach sessions in NYC neighborhoods most impacted by climate change. In 2019, she helped organize the 9/20 Climate Strike, which brought together thousands of students to demand climate justice, making it one of the state’s most significant climate actions. What made this strike even more impactful was teaching high school students across New York how to organize for a cause they care about. 

Melanie is a proud New Yorker and a proud Ecuadorian. She truly values the 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.