Melisa Laelan is the founder and Chief Executive Director of Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese (ACOM), a not-for-profit, Marshallese-operated organization and focuses on health, leadership, education and culture. Her leadership has helped pass legislation that give Marshallese mothers and children protection against human trafficking and adoption schemes, as well as a resolution that allows Marshallese children to have access to the State Medicaid program. A native of the Marshall Islands, she became the first certified interpreter in the U.S in 2013 and was appointed to serve on the Arkansas Minority Health Commission, making her the first Marshall Islander to serve in a State agency capacity.
Laelan, Melisa