Mel Manuel is the Operations Coordinator for the Louisiana Abortion Fund, an LGBTQ rights activist, former teacher, congressional candidate and a parent from Covington, Louisiana. After being Covington High’s valedictorian and graduating summa cum laude from Tulane University in 2006, Mel lived abroad in six countries, returning to Louisiana in 2015. They are the Co-Director and Co-founder of the nonprofit Queer Northshore and a founding member of the St Tammany Library Alliance. They devote their personal and professional time to increasing visibility for underrepresented communities, defending our public libraries from censorship and assuring access to reproductive healthcare for the Gulf South. Mel is looking forward to bringing the first PRIDE parade to St. Tammany parish in 2024.