Representative Melissa A Douglas, a Democrat, represents part of Jackson County (District 27) in the Missouri House of Representatives including several neighborhoods of Kansas City. Douglas was elected to her first term in November of 2024.

Before being elected to the House, Douglas worked in education and for 17 years was the McKinney-Vento Homeless Liaison for the Kansas City Public Schools. A 1994 graduate of Southwest High School, Douglas holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Idaho State University and earned her master’s in public administration from the University of Phoenix.

She is currently on the Board of Freedom, Inc, and is the 17th Ward Democratic Party Committeewoman. She previously served on the board of the Greater Kansas City Coalition to End Homelessness.

Douglas is active in her church, the Spruce Saint Matthew Baptist Church in Kansas City.