The Michael Calderin Show with special guest Melissa Zelniker-Presser!

Attorney Melissa Zelniker-Presser has served as the Police Legal Advisor in Plantation to Chief Howard Harrison since 2011, and simultaneously serves as an attorney for the Broward County Chiefs of Police Association. Mrs. Zelniker-Presser graduated Summa Cum Laude and with University Honors from the University of Central Florida, with her B.A. degree as a double major in Criminal Justice and Legal Studies. She went on to receive her Juris Doctor degree in 2002 from The Florida State University College of Law.

Upon graduation, Mrs. Zelniker- Presser was selected for a prestigious fellowship through Equal Justice Works, and hosted her project at Legal Aid Service of Broward County, Inc., catering to the needs of foster children who were also facing delinquency issues. Her project, “The Bridge,” provided representation to children in both the dependency and criminal justice arenas, working to bridge the gap between the delinquency and foster care systems. In 2004, Ms. Zelniker-Presser was awarded the Florida Bar President’s Award of Merit on behalf of all Florida Legal Aid attorneys for her work.

Subsequent to her work at Legal Aid Service of Broward County, Inc., Mrs. Zelniker-Presser served as an assistant public defender in the 17th judicial circuit in Broward County and also worked with her husband as a Partner at the Presser Law Firm. Missing her first love to serve others, in 2008 she jumped at the chance to help establish the newly formed Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel for the Fourth District. She later became the Chief Assistant Regional Counsel for the 17th Judicial Circuit in Broward County, overseeing the Broward County office. Mrs. Zelniker-Presser’s career and passion were both born out of her own struggle as a survivor of sexual abuse and deep-seated commitment to helping others who are struggling as a result of their own trauma.