Melissa Hoppmeyer is the current Chief of the Special Victims and Family Violence Unit in Prince George’s County as well as one of the Legislative & Policy chairs. She is an experienced prosecutor who has made her career tirelessly advocating for victims of violent crime, specifically victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Melissa has assisted in drafting numerous legislative bills and has testified before the Maryland General Assembly on numerous occasions to help implement stronger criminal laws for crimes of violence.  This includes most recently during the 2020 legislative session advocating and testifying on behalf of a change to the first degree assault statute in order to make strangulation a felony. Ms. Hoppmeyer has trained around the state as well as most recently presenting for a national conference on sexual violence on college campuses. Ms. Hoppmeyer serves of several councils and boards including the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee; Domestic Violence Coordinating Council; Sexual Assault Response Team and the Executive Board of the Child Advocacy Center. She is also the Co-Chair of the Criminal section of the Prince George’s County Human Trafficking Task Force Ms. Hoppmeyer previously served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Organized Crime Unit prosecuting prison corruption and high ranking drug traffickers. Ms. Hoppmeyer earned her JD from The George Washington University.  While earning her law degree, she worked as a legal assistant with the United States Office of Special Counsel and was actively involved in the Domestic Violence Clinic. Her efforts were recognized with the Community Legal Clinics Volunteer Service Award.