Melanie Ramil

Board Member

A self-described “relentless idealist,” Melanie has spent the last 20 years in the nonprofit, political and public sectors, driven by a deep intentionality to fight for justice alongside values-driven leaders and organizations. 

For the last two years, her firm - Authentic Consulting - has partnered with organizations committed to equity, justice and representative democracy, and she has focused her expertise and experience on the Democratic candidate pipeline. She served as Chief Development Officer for Close the Gap California, trains Democratic women across the country to run for elected office with Emerge America, and is building a statewide pipeline and training hub for progressive school board candidates. Melanie also provides executive advising, strategic planning, and policy coaching to several local, statewide and national Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander nonprofit organizations. Ahead of the November 2024 Presidential Election, Melanie served as California Deputy State Director for Harris for President. 

Prior to founding Authentic Consulting, Melanie served as Executive Director of Emerge California. Under her leadership, the number of alum serving in elected office more than doubled and she introduced new initiatives, such as the Child Care Grant, to decrease barriers for women running for office. She has also served as Deputy Chief of the Bureau of Cannabis Control, Deputy State Director in the office of United States Senator Kamala D. Harris, and Chief of Community Programs for State Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones.

Melanie is the proud daughter of Filipino immigrants, newly certified scuba diver and creator of “Lola’s Journals,” a lifelong blog project dedicated to transcribing her grandmother’s journals. Her most authentic self centers joy, love, adventure, service and community.