As a former state senator and Minnesota Senate minority leader, Melisa López Franzen has been a prominent figure in the Minnesota Hispanic community, including being the first Hispanic and first person of color to lead a political caucus in the Minnesota Legislature. Currently, she serves in the cabinet of the University of Minnesota. Before that role, she was president of NewPublica, a Hispanic-owned public relations firm. A native of Puerto Rico, López Franzen moved to Minnesota to pursue her graduate and law degrees. She serves as a board member of Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio, a social services nonprofit in Minnesota, as well as president of the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association and regional president of the Hispanic National Bar Association.