Melissa Cedillo was born and raised in California's Coachella Valley. She attended Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles where she earned a BA in Theological Studies. After college, Melissa spent time in Washington DC as a campaign associate for Faith in Public Life working to defend the integrity of the 2020 Census. Melissa then went on to complete an MTS at Harvard Divinity School where she studied religion, ethics, and politics through a public policy lens. Melissa currently works at the National Catholic Reporter at the Latino Catholics Fellow.

She is passionate about bridging the gap between progressive politics and religion in America. Melissa is dedicated to learning about and advocating for preventative domestic violence policy, reproductive justice, immigration advocacy, pushing for prison divestment, and decarceration work.