Melanie Ash served as General Counsel to the New York City Racial Justice Commission from May 2021- December 2022, on loan from the New York City Law Department where she was recently promoted to Deputy Chief of the Affirmative Litigation Division. As GC she oversaw the development of proposals to amend the NYC Charter to begin to uproot structural racism in NYC government. In 2020-21 she held an Affirmative Leaders Fellowship with the Public Rights Project, and in 2018 received the Law Department’s Edith J Spivak Special Recognition Award for dedicated legal service and superior achievement. She serves as Co-Chair of the Board of the Fifth Avenue Committee, a non-profit Community Development Corporation that promotes social & economic justice in Brooklyn, including by building affordable housing.
In 2022 Melanie was recognized with an Allard Law Alumni of Distinction Award for her dedication to fighting racial injustice with unfailing empathy and compassion. In 2019 she was honoured by the Consul General of Canada in New York City as a “2019 Canadian of New York” in recognition of her contribution and service to the New York City Community. In 1993 she received a BA (Hons) from Carleton University, in 1996, an LLB from UBC Law School where she was a Westbrook Scholar, and in 2000, an LLM from the Columbia University School of Law, where she also held the title of Associate in Law and taught legal research and writing. After graduation from UBC, she clerked for then Justice Beverly McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada. Melanie is admitted to the bar in British Columbia and New York.