Mel Chilton

Mel Laura Chilton is Crime Victim Services Grants Manager with the North Carolina Governor's Crime Commission.

Ms. Chilton grew up in Wake County and graduated from North Carolina State University at Raleigh, in 1972. Her mother, a dental assistant was murdered on May 19, 1975 in the Department of Correction by a minimum-security inmate where she had been recently employed. Six months later, Chilton began her career as a parole officer in Wake County. She worked in the criminal justice system for ten years. As the first Victim Advocate in District 10, Division of Community Corrections, N.C. Department of Correction she helped to develop the victim services program.

During the victim rights movement she served on the North Carolina Victim Assistance Network's Board of Directors as the South/Central Vice President. In 1999 she joined the staff of NCVAN and then served as Executive Director from 2003 until 2007. She served as Executive Director for the North Carolina Council for Women/Domestic Violence Commission from August 2007 to November 2009.

In 2001 Ms. Chilton was appointed and continues to serve on the NC State Criminal Justice Partnership Advisory Board and last year was appointed the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission.

She was a co-founder and the former Vice President of HALOS (Helping All Loved Ones Survive) a support group for homicide survivors in Wake County. Her goal has been to turn her personal tragedy into something positive by helping other crime victims.
Ms. Chilton is the proud mother of three adult children and three granddaughters.