Joseline Peña-Melnyk facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Joseline Peña-Melnyk
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 21st district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 10, 2007 Serving with Ben Barnes and Mary A. Lehman
Preceded by	Pauline Menes
Member of the College Park City Council
In office 2003–2006
Personal details
Born	(1966-06-27) June 27, 1966 (age 59) Dominican Republic
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Markian Melnyk
Children	3
Occupation	Attorney

Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk (born June 27, 1966) is an American politician. She represents District 21 in the Maryland House of Delegates. This is a part of the state government that makes laws. In 2016, she ran for the United States House of Representatives but did not win.

Her Early Life and Education

Joseline Peña-Melnyk was born in the Dominican Republic. Her family faced many challenges and relied on public support programs. When she was eight years old, she moved to New York with her mother and sister.

In Manhattan's Washington Heights, she often helped her mother and other Spanish-speaking families. She translated for them, making it easier for them to understand things. Later, she lived with friends and rented a room while finishing high school.

Joseline then went to Buffalo State College. She paid for her studies by working in stores. She also volunteered at a shelter that helped women. She earned a degree in criminal justice. She was the first person in her family to graduate from college. After that, she earned her law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

After law school, Joseline started working as a public defender in Philadelphia. She then moved to Washington, D.C.. In 1993, she passed the test to become a lawyer. She became a court-appointed lawyer, helping children in foster care and those who had been hurt. Later, she worked as a prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She stopped practicing law after her first child was born in 1999. She continued to be active in her community. She joined the board of CASA de Maryland and was elected to the College Park City Council in 2003.

Her Work in the Legislature

Peña-Melnyk in 2007

Since 2007, Joseline Peña-Melnyk has been a member of the House Health and Government Operations Committee. This committee works on laws about health and how the government runs. She has served on several smaller groups within this committee. In 2022, she became the Chair of the Health and Government Operations Committee. This made her the highest-ranking Latino person in the history of the General Assembly.

She is also a member of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland. This group focuses on issues important to Black communities. She is also part of the Women Legislators of Maryland. Joseline helped start the Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus. She was its first leader. In 2019, she spoke out against a plan that would make members choose between the Black Caucus and the Latino Caucus. Because of her concerns, the plan was stopped.

In 2019, Joseline Peña-Melnyk helped nominate Adrienne A. Jones to be the Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates. The Speaker is a very important leader in the House.

In 2024, she was a delegate for Kamala Harris at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. This is a big meeting where political parties choose their candidates for president and vice president.

Running for U.S. Congress in 2016

On March 14, 2015, Joseline Peña-Melnyk announced she would run for the United States House of Representatives. She wanted to represent Maryland's 4th congressional district. Her goals included raising the federal minimum wage. She also wanted to lower interest rates on college loans.

During her campaign, she received support from several groups. These included EMILY's List and the Sierra Club.

She was not chosen in the Democratic primary election. Anthony Brown won that election.

Her Views on Important Issues

Many news groups describe Joseline Peña-Melnyk as a progressive politician. This means she supports ideas that aim to improve society and protect people's rights.

Healthcare Choices

Joseline Peña-Melnyk believes that people should have the right to make their own healthcare choices. She wants to make sure this right is protected in the Maryland Constitution. After a big court decision in 2022, she worked to make sure these rights were clearly written into state law.

In 2022, she helped pass a law called the Healthy Babies Equity Act. This law helps provide healthcare for pregnant people, no matter their immigration status.

Improving Healthcare Access

In 2018, Joseline Peña-Melnyk worked on a bill to help Maryland get money from the federal government. This money would help lower the cost of health insurance for people with high medical needs. This bill became law and helped make health insurance more affordable.

In 2019, she introduced a bill that would encourage Marylanders to get health insurance. If people didn't have insurance, they would pay a state fee. This fee would then help them buy coverage. This bill also became law.

She also worked on a law in 2020 that requires healthcare workers to get special training. This training helps them understand and avoid implicit bias. This means recognizing unfair feelings or stereotypes they might have without realizing it. This was one of the first laws of its kind in the United States.

In 2021, she introduced the Shirley Nathan-Pulliam Health Equity Act. This law created a group to study differences in healthcare based on race, background, or income. She also helped pass laws requiring healthcare professionals to get implicit bias training when they renew their licenses.

In 2022, she supported expanding Medicaid for immigrants. Medicaid is a program that helps people with low incomes get healthcare. She also helped pass a law to give undocumented pregnant women access to Medicaid.

Housing Support

In 2022, Joseline Peña-Melnyk introduced a bill to help tenants. This bill allowed people to ask courts to hide records of eviction cases. This was for cases where people couldn't pay rent because they lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic. This bill became law.

Immigration Policies

In 2020, she introduced a bill that would stop state police from sending cases to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This agency deals with immigration laws.

National Politics

In 2008, Joseline Peña-Melnyk supported Barack Obama for president. She was also a delegate at the Democratic National Convention in 2012 and 2020. In 2012, she was part of the electoral college. She cast her vote for Barack Obama.

In 2015, she protested against Donald Trump at a hotel construction site in Washington, D.C.

Social Issues

In 2019, Joseline Peña-Melnyk introduced a bill to create the Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This group helps people learn about past injustices and promotes healing. This bill became law.

In 2021, she supported making Juneteenth a state holiday in Maryland. Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the United States.

Taxes

In 2021, she supported expanding Maryland's Earned Income Tax Credit. This tax credit helps people with lower incomes. She wanted it to include immigrants who pay taxes but did not have a Social Security number.

Transportation

In 2017, Joseline Peña-Melnyk said she was against a plan for a very fast maglev train. This train would run between Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

Her Family Life

Joseline Peña-Melnyk is married to Markian Melnyk. They live in College Park, Maryland, and have three children.