Representative Melissa A Douglas was elected in 2024 to represent part of Jackson County (District 27) as a Democrat in the Missouri House of Representatives. Douglas’ district includes several neighborhoods of Kansas City.
In the legislature, Douglas serves on the Budget committee and the committee on Professional Registration and Licensing. Douglas also serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee focusing on Public Safety, Corrections, Transportation, and Revenue.
Before her election, Douglas worked in education and for 17 years was the McKinney-Vento Homeless Liaison for the Kansas City Public Schools. A 1994 graduate of Southwest High School, Douglas holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Idaho State University and earned her master’s in public administration from the University of Phoenix.
She is currently on the Board of Freedom, Inc, and is the 17th Ward Democratic Party Committeewoman. She previously served on the board of the Greater Kansas City Coalition to End Homelessness.
Douglas is active in her church, the Spruce Saint Matthew Baptist Church in Kansas City.
