Melissa Ford is the policy director for the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Secure and Sovereign Frontier campaign, which strives to keep our nation safe and free. Melissa’s work and expertise is focused on policies that secure the border and restore the rule of law as we fix and improve legal immigration to the United States. Melissa writes about foreign policy, public safety, drug cartels, and organized crime.
Melissa was born and raised in Cochabamba, Bolivia, but now calls Texas home. She moved to Tyler, Texas for college, and after completing a semester as a Bill Archer fellow in Washington D.C., she graduated from the University of Texas at Tyler in 2018 with bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Political Science.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Melissa served at the White House under President Donald Trump, first in the Office of American Innovation and later in the Domestic Policy Council. After the President left office, Melissa worked for the Center for Advancing Opportunity, a research and education initiative in Washington D.C.
After getting married at the beginning of 2022 and embarking on a 6-month worldwide honeymoon, Melissa and her husband, David, currently reside in downtown Austin, and spend a large majority of their free time playing different sports, exploring the outdoors, trying new restaurants, and enjoying wine.