About Melissa Wintrow

Sen. Melissa Wintrow is a lifelong activist who is committed to lifting up the voices of every member of her community. She believes everyone deserves the opportunity to be who they are and to pursue opportunities to thrive in a safe and peaceful world. She will go to bat for folks not being treated fairly or with compassion. She places high value on equity, education, and fairness, which shines in her service as legislator. Even as a child, Melissa had no stomach for a bully; she continues to fight against oppressive thinking, practices and systems.

She is a seasoned college educator who has devoted more than 25 years of service to providing leadership to students, faculty and staff. She has held formal leadership positions as a Women’s Center Director, Faculty in Residence Program Director, Program Manager for NEW Leadership (a national women’s leadership institute), and an instructor of Gender Studies course and Leadership courses at Boise State. She possesses extensive experience in diversity training, facilitation, leadership development, conflict resolution, and curriculum design. At Boise State, she created an advocacy program to support victims of sexual violence and university policies and protocols to better serve students who had been victims of violence.

Melissa translated her vast experience in education into a small business which she co-owns, called SAGA Strategic Consulting. She has provided keynote addresses, workshops, and team development activities to college campuses, non-profits, government agencies, and corporations.

As a legislator, she became involved in the National Institute for Civil Discourse, an organization that promotes civil discourse in politics. She served as a co-chair for two years for a national network of state legislators (Nxt Gen) committed to leading with civility. Melissa has visited other state legislatures to facilitate workshops as a part of this group and does civil discourse presentations upon request in the community or wherever she is called.

Melissa prides herself on learning from everything she does. She completed a self-supported bicycle trip riding 4,200 miles across the U.S. and finished an Ironman (Ironman Arizona) without being an experienced athlete. What did she learn? No matter how daunting a challenge can be, if you do the training, you can complete your goal. She pushes herself outside of her comfort zone time and again, encouraging others to do the same because this is truly where reward lies.

Melissa moved to Boise in 1999 with her husband, Brad Sneed, after he finished law school at Lewis and Clark in Portland, Oregon. They met for the first time in 1996 on their cross-country bicycle trip which brought them through Idaho and Boise. They fell in love with Boise and later each other and have happily made Idaho their home.

Melissa earned her bachelor’s in English literature from Miami University in Ohio and her master’s degree in Higher Education from the University of Georgia. She also worked at Eastern Michigan University, Michigan State University, Portland State University, and Boise State University.