Judge Melanie May Joins The Council of State Governments 2021-22 Healthy States National Task Force
The Council of State Governments (CSG) has launched a new two-year Healthy States National Task Force. The task force will assist states with a variety of health and well-being challenges, all of which have been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Fourth District Court of Appeal Judge Melanie May was nominated for the position by Chief Justice Charles Canady and invited to join this working group because of her expertise and commitment to policy change and improvement.
Members of the CSG Healthy States National Task Force, representing all three branches of government, will oversee research and analysis on selected policy areas, identify policy solutions, develop case studies, and provide recommendations for implementing data-informed policy outcomes in the years ahead.
“I am honored to serve on the Council of State Government’s 2021-22 Healthy States National Task Force. The importance of the task force’s work cannot be overstated,” Judge May said. “I hope that my decades of experience with problem-solving courts and the judicial system’s interface with human health will be of value to the task force.”
Judge May has served on the Fourth District Court of Appeal since 2002. Previously, she was a circuit judge in Broward County’s 17th Judicial Circuit where she presided over drug court. She has been an active participant in judicial and bar work, as well as within her community, including serving as the current chair of the Commission on District Court of Appeal Performance and Accountability, as a current member and former chair of what is now known as the Florida Supreme Court Steering Committee on Treatment Based Drug Courts, as a member of the Children’s Court Improvement Committee, and with the PACE Center for Girls, among many others.
State leaders — including those serving on this national task force — are working to anticipate the future of the country’s economic and workforce health, human health, civic health and fiscal health in the context of the long-term impact of the pandemic.
In the wake of the pandemic, as states continue to work to identify and implement policies that will improve outcomes, the task force will work together to analyze best practices and release detailed recommendations that champion excellence in state government.
“For nearly 90 years, The Council of State Governments has convened public servants who strive to solve complex problems in order to make their communities, states and the world a better place for everyone,” said David Adkins, CSG executive director/CEO.