10 Facts About Linda Melconian

Linda J Melconian is a former American state legislator who served as the first woman Majority Leader in the history of the Massachusetts Senate.

In 2017 Melconian was invited by the US House of Representatives Historian's Office to participate in an oral interview and transcript as part of the Oral History Project commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first woman elected to Congress.

Linda Melconian graduated with highest honors from Springfield's Classical High School and was a competitive swimmer in the backstroke events.

In 1974, Linda Melconian assisted then Majority Leader Tip O'Neill in his efforts to assure the integrity of the US House of Representatives during the constitutional crisis of the historic Richard Nixon impeachment hearings.

For more than two decades, Linda Melconian rose through the Democratic Party ranks to become Assistant Majority Leader and then Majority Floor Leader of the Massachusetts Senate where she often held the position of Acting Senate President.

Linda Melconian held positions on the Senate Ways and Means, Joint Committees on Judiciary, vice chairwoman Commerce and Labor, and Elderly and Human Service.

Linda Melconian created new laws that increased access to health care and insurance coverage for women and children generally, and achieved insurance coverage for women in small businesses and third-party insurance benefits for women who practiced in traditionally female health care professions.

Linda Melconian contributes to The Weissman Center for Leadership and the Liberal Arts at Mount Holyoke College, enhancing its program offerings on leadership for women.

Linda Melconian was a past advisor and consultant to American International College Springfield, MA where she enriched its MPA program and developed its MSNPM program.

Linda Melconian serves on Greenfield Community College's Board of trustees and as a Hampden County Deputy Sheriff.