Melvinia Turner King is the Executive Director of Fighting Back Partnership, Inc., a nonprofit organization committed to preventing and ending poverty and its effects in Vallejo and throughout Solano County. Since joining the agency in 2018, King has led an agenda that utilizes the “Creating the Beloved Community: The Quest for Character, Civility and Community,” as social impact approach to strengthening family and developing youth, while addressing systemic policies, poverty and racism.

King, a native of Starkville, Mississippi, is a long-term resident of Georgia and California. She is a nationally recognized community leader with a longstanding career in California and the metro-Atlanta Area. Prior to joining Fighting Back Partnership, she served as interim associate vice chancellor of workforce development and continuing education (WDCE) at Peralta Community College District. In serving four distinct California colleges, her focus for WDCE was in promoting social justice by advancing academic excellence and increasing quality job opportunities. She was a professor in the department of business at Morehouse College and adjunct professor in the graduate program of organization and leadership at the University of San Francisco; she served as interim executive director of the Morehouse Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership and led programs ranging from Conversations on Leadership with Ambassador Andrew Young and Friends, Coca-Cola Pre-College Leadership Program, Oprah South Africa Project, and Salzburg Global Seminars to serving as lead in launching Empowering Leadership in Local Communities (ELLC) with Morehouse College, the Second District of Los Angeles County, The California Endowment, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the Weingart Foundation, and Community Coalition to develop leadership skills in boys and young men of color in Los Angeles County; she and her husband Johnnie owned nine McDonald’s restaurants in California and received the Golden Arch Award, the most prestigious award presented to the top 1% of McDonald’s Owner/Operators that recognizes a relentless dedication to customer service, exceptional achievement in business, and significant community involvement.

King serves on the Solano County Workforce Development Board, Black Infant Healthcare Advisory Board, Solano County Home Visiting Community Advisory Board, along with other organizations serving the needs of the community. She has several publications and books, with her most recent publication being Ethical Decision-Making Cases in Organization and Leadership edited by Patricia A. Mitchell. King holds a bachelor’s degree in fashion merchandising from the University of Southern Mississippi. She holds a master’s degree in international and multicultural education and a doctoral degree in organizational leadership from the University of San Francisco. She is married to her best friend Johnnie and the proud mom of Aaron & Aprell.