Dra. Melisa Jimenez was born in Kansas and raised in Kansas City, Kansas. She is a proud community college graduate that began her educational journey at Kansas City Kansas Community College and most recently earned her Doctorate of Education from the University of Northern Illinois in Higher Education, with an emphasis in Community College Leadership. Her research focus was on equitable access to post-secondary education for undocumented students; “Doing the Bare Minimum: An UnDocuCrit Examination of Staff Acompañamiento for Undocumented Community College Students.” As a first-generation student, and the daughter of first-generation Mexican American parents, every opportunity to access education was valued and sought after. 

In addition, her commitment to community involvement has allowed her to work with LUNA, the Latine student organization at Johnson County Community, KC BizFest, and serving on the Race Project KC advisory board. Dr. Jimenez’s work is with the purpose of being an equity- minded leader and embraces the spirit of acompañamiento with the community that she serves.