Melanie Mark is the first First Nations woman to serve in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. She was elected in the constituency of Vancouver-Mount Pleasant in a February 2016 by-election and was re-elected in the general election of 2017. Mark was appointed Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training on July 18, 2017, becoming the first First Nations woman to be a Cabinet minister in B.C. She is Nisga'a, Gitxsan, Cree, Ojibway, French, and Scottish.
Raised in East Vancouver, Ms. Mark has spent her life standing up for her community, volunteering for multiple community organizations like Big Sisters Youth Custody Centres and the Urban Native Youth Association. She co-founded the Vancouver Aboriginal Community Policing Centre, worked with the Native Courtworkers Association, Covenant House Vancouver, and was the National Aboriginal Project Coordinator with Save the Children Canada's Sacred Lives project.
