Melissa Benson
Melissa Benson has spent her legal career advocating for
Ohioans living in poverty. As the Senior Managing Attorney of the Housing
Practice Group at Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio, she has worked to
prevent evictions and ensure safe housing conditions for thousands of families
in Columbus. Melissa was lead counsel
in T&R Properties v. Wimberly, the Tenth District Court of
Appeals case stopping the nearly 30-year practice of eviction by affidavit in
Franklin County Municipal Court.
Melissa is also a passionate advocate for access to abortion
and other reproductive health care. She
serves on the Board of the Pro-Choice Ohio Foundation, striving to guarantee
every Ohioan the right to make personal decisions regarding a full range of
reproductive choices.
Melissa received her law degree from Case Western Reserve
University in 2005. She obtained a
bachelor’s degree in journalism and a certificate in women’s studies from Ohio
University in 1999, and previously worked as a journalist in Cleveland.