Melanie Mathewson

Melanie Mathewson serves as Director of State and Local Policy at the Deveau Burr Group.

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Melanie brings a blend of policy expertise, political acumen, and hands-on campaign experience. Prior to joining Deveau Burr Group, she served as a Legislative Aide to the President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Rafael Mandelman. In that role, she led a wide-ranging good government portfolio, playing a central role in advancing the City’s most comprehensive contracting reform in a generation. She also led all communications for the office and helped shape legislation to establish the Downtown Public Financing District, an important tool in San Francisco’s economic recovery, and supported the Board President and Mayor's efforts around charter and commission reform.

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Melanie understands not just how policy is written, but how it wins. She previously led and won multiple high-profile ballot measure campaigns, including Yes on Proposition M and No on Proposition L in San Francisco’s November 2024 election. Her work helped deliver meaningful reforms and create a more competitive economic environment for businesses to grow and thrive.

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Earlier in her career, Melanie served as Chief of Staff at Civin, a civic technology startup focused on bringing the power of data analytics to local governments. There, she worked at the intersection of technology and public policy, translating the needs of city leaders into tools engineers could build, and ensuring those tools delivered real value. Her ability to bridge that gap helped expand the company’s reach and deepen its impact, giving her a unique perspective on how governments can better use data and technology to serve their communities.

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Melanie holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Northeastern University, where her thesis research focused on education policy, specifically civic education, work that reflects her longstanding commitment to helping people better understand how government works and how to engage with it. She earned dual undergraduate degrees in Political Science and English Literature, graduating magna cum laude and was captain of her collegiate soccer team. She was also a finalist in both the MIT Policy Hackathon and the Yale International Policy Competition.

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Deeply engaged in her community, Melanie serves as a board member of the San Francisco Women’s Political Committee. Outside of work, you can find her playing soccer, training for long bike rides, or taking full advantage of everything San Francisco has to offer.