Draft:Melissa Robbins

Melissa Robbins is an American activist and politician from Philadelphia. She is currently serving as Vice President of Advocacy, Public Policy & Legislative Affairs at the Urban League of Philadelphia..

Early Life and Education
Robbins was born on the Eastern Shores of Maryland in 1972. After high school, she joined the United States Army as a combat medic veteran, having served four years in Colorado. In 1995, Robbins moved to Philadelphia to care for family. She attended the Community College of Philadelphia in 2004, where she received her Associate of the Arts. She later attended Temple University in 2011 to receive her Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism and Political Science.

Career
In 2009, Robbins briefly hosted her own radio show in Atlanta, Georgia before moving back to Philadelphia. In January of 2018, she joined WURD Radio as a host until October of that same year. She has remained a frequent guest and contributor. Robbins can often be seen as a television political analyst at 6ABC Inside Story.

Robbins has worked on campaigns for Tom Wolf, Bob Casey Jr., Helen Gym, and most notably the 2016 Presidential Campaign for Sen. Bernie Sanders - when she served as an elected delegate at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Robbins is the co-founder of Northeast Philadelphia Against Racism (N.E.A.R), a local non-profit advocating for anti-racist policies at the local and state level. She has led dozens of protests across the city, including the first anti-racist in Northeast Philly following the murder of George Floyd. In 2023, she organized a large coalition of local leaders and organizations to denounce Gov. Ron DeSantis being honored at the Philadelphia Union League

In 2019 Robbins launched a campaign for Philadelphia City Council but suspended her campaign after a challenge to petition signatures. She ran again in 2023 for Philadelphia City Council making it into the May Democratic Primary. In a field of 27 candidates for 5 seats, Robbins finished 11th with 24,270 votes. She was endorsed by PASNAP and Make the Road Action in PA.

Robbins joined the Urban League of Philadelphia as Vice President of Advocacy, Public Policy & Legislative Affairs in February of 2024.

Personal life
Robbins lives in the Fox Chase section of the city and is the mother of four children, who all attended Philadelphia public schools.