Melisa Lopez Franzen doesn’t just like her job as senior specialist for government affairs for Target Corporation, overseeing civic affair issues for the southwestern United States. She loves it. “You don’t just look for a job, you look for a culture and a community that speaks to you,” says Lopez Franzen, who came to the United States in 2003 after graduating from college in Puerto Rico. “I’ve found that with Target. I didn’t think I would have a job that I loved so much so early on in my career.”
Lopez Franzen has volunteered with numerous community nonprofits such as Neighborhood House and Centro Campesino. In law school, she interned with Centro Legal, where she worked on a voter participation program to empower Latinos in the election process. She now serves as the national representative to the American Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division, for the Hispanic National Bar Association.
Lopez Franzen not only quickly engaged in the community, she quickly got engaged. “I met my husband Nathan the first year I moved here,” she says. “I think I’ve done more outdoor activities than most Minnesotans. I own a snowmobile, can you believe that?”
