Jathan Melendez was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. He began his organizing journey in 2012 with Community Coalition as a youth leader with the South Central Youth Empowered Through Action program and as a scholar in the Freedom Schools program. This helped him understand the historical impact of divestment in the schools he attended and the community in which he lived. Determined to gain the skillset and knowledge necessary to fight for racial and economic justice for his community, Jathan attended California State University Los Angeles to earn his degree in Political Science. While in school, he dedicated his summers to serving in the Freedom Schools program as a Servant Leader Intern. After graduated from college he decided to return to South Central to continue to do organizing work. Jathan now serves as the Lead Youth Organizer at Community Coalition where he gets to organize and train high school students to be the change they want to see in their communities and has also completed his first year as a Freedom Schools Site Coordinator this past summer.