Nelly Medina is bilingual with an Associates’s Degree in Law Enforcement and General Studies Liberal Arts from Quinsigamond Community College and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in political science. She works with the Jim McGovern Campaign Organization, NAACP, Interfaith, Worcester’s Coalition for Education and Equity, The Massachusetts Women of Color Coalition, and Neighbor to Neighbor. Nelly is the lead parent organizer for both The Worcester Education Justice Alliance and The Massachusetts parent union PUMA.

Nelly, a former ward of the Massachusetts Foster care system, is a Foster Youth and Civic Literacy Advocate who uses her learned experience to champion the needs of children currently in the Massachusetts Child Welfare System. She has worked with lawyers from the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, providing support for Massachusetts State Legislators like Jo Comerford and Tricia Farley-Bouvier. Today she is actively working to amend and enforce the Foster Children’s Bill of Rights, which until now has been routinely unenforced, and is presently working on legislation that will prevent the separation of siblings involved in the foster care system.