Melissa Fitzgerald

Melissa Fitzgerald is an American actress and the Senior Director of the nonprofit organization Justice For Vets.

As an actress, she may be best known for portraying Carol Fitzpatrick on The West Wing.

Fitzgerald's father is Pennsylvania judge James Fitzgerald; her mother, Carole, is involved in politics and volunteer work in Philadelphia.

Fitzgerald graduated from Springside School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1983, and earned a B.A. in Drama and Literature from the University of Pennsylvania in 1987.

Fitzgerald studied acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City.

Fitzgerald is the founder of Voices in Harmony, a non-profit community theater in Los Angeles.

From 1999 to 2006, she played Carol Fitzpatrick, assistant to press secretary C.J. Cregg, on The West Wing.

On January 19, 2007, Nicholas D. Kristof of The New York Times announced that Fitzgerald had won a writing contest he had sponsored on Darfur.

On May 17, 2008, Fitzgerald received the Chestnut Hill College Medal, and she was the commencement speaker.

In November 2013, Fitzgerald joined Justice For Vets as its Senior Director.

The organization advocates for veterans treatment courts.