Melissa Reilly

Office Aide and Disability Policy Adviser

Melissa Joy Reilly serves as our Office Aide and Disability Policy Adviser. She assist with day to day administrative tasks. Melissa has been working with Senator Eldridge since 2013. She is also an advocate for employment and a more inclusive world  for people with intellectual disabilities. Through public speaking, she strives to change the way people think about individuals with disabilities and show that they can be valuable members of our society. She has been the keynote speaker at many events across the country, has received a number of awards, been featured in magazines and newspapers and, interviewed on TV and Radio. 

 Melissa graduated from the Transition Program at Middlesex Community College with a certificate in office support. At Special Olympics, she is an athlete, a global messenger, and a member of Special Olympics Massachusetts Board of Directors. As an alpine skier, she was a member of Team USA at two World Games. She was inducted into Special Olympics Massachusetts Hall of Fame in 2010.

At the Massachusetts Down syndrome Congress, Melissa is a member of the Self-Advocates Advisory Council. She makes presentations to many different organizations, shares with them various aspects of her life, and encourages them to think differently about individuals with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities.