MELODY BARNES

At age 8, Melody Barnes sold cupcakes to support U.S. Sen. George McGovern’s 1972 presidential campaign. She recalls enjoying her first taste of civic service, even if McGovern’s presidential bid proved unsuccessful. By high school, Barnes was involved in student government and seeking out opportunities to give back and create change — an ethos inspired by her “very civically involved” parents, whose conversations about good citizenship she’d observed and absorbed while growing up.

More than 30 years later, Barnes was at the U.S. Capitol for the inauguration of President Barack Obama, whose campaign she supported as a senior domestic policy adviser. She recalls feeling an “enormous sense of responsibility” that day, particularly to address the recurring concerns and challenges she’d learned about from voters on the campaign trail. “To this day, I haven’t forgotten those conversations.”

Barnes spent three years working in the Obama administration as director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, adding to the 12 years she’d served on various committees in Congress. Since 2018, she’s been the founding executive director of U.Va.’s Karsh Institute of Democracy, where she enjoys the opportunity to galvanize students’ aspirations into democratic practices. “It’s been exhilarating and invigorating and educational.”

During what Barnes sees as a make-or-break time for U.S. democracy, working with young adults is reassuring, offering “a deep sense of hope” for the future. “It’s a privilege to be able to do that, and I learn a lot from them, and that’s important to my work.” 

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