Eddie Melendrez
Board Member

Eddie is a community builder who has been serving his community for over 20 years. This includes mentoring, volunteering and serving others. He is currently a community organizer with the Oregon Food Bank serving southeast Oregon. Eddie is also a skilled boxer and boxing coach who has trained hundreds of youth competing all over the United States and a 2024-26 Fields Artist Fellow using his art to create awareness for social justice issues.

Eddie believes representation matters. This is what inspired him to run for Ontario City Council. Eddie was elected to the City Council and served in 2021-24. He now serves on the Diversity Advisory Committee for the City of Ontario. He hopes to inspire more youth and folks with lived experience in his community to see themselves in leadership roles.

In 2018, Eddie was awarded the Ontario Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year Award.

Eddie grew up in California. He is a Mexican American who identifies with his indigenous roots, specifically in the Southwest United States. Eddie finds beauty in community and celebrates moments and people who may go overlooked. He says that everything good in his life has come from serving others.