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Biography for publication

Senator Melissa Wintrow is the Senate Minority Leader in the Idaho Legislature. She is now in her 5th term representing Boise’s Legislative District 19, second term in the Idaho Senate after completing three terms as a member of the Idaho House of Representatives.

Senator Wintrow currently serves on the Health & Welfare, Judiciary & Rules and Transportation Committees. She serves on Idaho Governor’s Criminal Justice Commission and the is Co-chair of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee that reviews research requests of public agencies. 

Senator Wintrow serves on the Board for the National Institute for Civil Discourse, and is a former co-chair for a national network of state legislators committed to leading with civility. Her legislation has focused on the criminal legal system; she has successfully passed major legislation seeking justice for victims of sexual assault by creating statewide standards to process and preserve evidence, addressing the backlog of rape kits on law enforcement shelves.

Senator Wintrow worked in higher education for more than twenty-five years at six different universities in positions of leadership in living learning communities, housing and residence life, advising, instruction, curriculum design and as Women’s Center Director where she provided direct advocacy for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. She owns a consulting firm, SAGA Strategic Consulting, specializing in project management, team facilitation, and leadership development.

Her decision to run for office was spurred through involvement as a Program Manager for N.E.W. Leadership (National Education for Women), a program founded by Rutgers University to introduce women to politics and public policy to inspire them to run for office. To quote Teddy Roosevelt, after mentoring numerous students, especially women, it was time for her to “enter the arena.”