Melanie Hecker is the current Statewide Youth and Young Adult Advocacy Specialist at the New York State Office of Mental Health. She is an autistic young adult with mental health challenges and she began her career at the age of fifteen, speaking on what it is as a young person with developmental disability and mental health system experience. She eventually went on to work as the Systems Advocate of Youth Power before going on to get her combined BA/MPA degree in Public Policy and Administration from the University at Albany. During her time at UAlbany, she was the Student Representative on the Post-Secondary Advisory Council for Students with Disabilities to the Board of Regents and as Vice President of Delta Alpha Pi Disability Honor Society. Shortly after graduation, Melanie worked as a Research and Training Associate at the National Center for START Services. In her current role, she and her team work to ensure the voices and perspectives of young people are included in all policy and program areas of OMH.