The Three Melissas

Diane Nilan worked in homelessness, beginning in the mid-1980s. Nilan managed large shelters in Chicago suburbs for fifteen years. In the process, she became involved in grassroots advocacy - focusing on raising awareness and implementing systemic change. She and other advocates met with enormous success, implementing the first state law passed to remove educational barriers and increase school access for students experiencing homelessness (Illinois Education for Homeless Children Act, 1994).Less than a decade later, Nilan became integrally involved in incorporating the Illinois law into federal legislation, with the reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento Assistance Improvements Act in 2002. She left shelter work in 2003 to share her knowledge of homelessness and of homeless education laws. Nilan founded a new program, Project REACH, with the goal of training educators in 305 Chicago-area school districts on their academic obligations to students experiencing homelessness. She quickly gained a clear understanding of the knowledge gap keeping many educators from implementing the new legislative requirements or even recognizing students experiencing homelessness. Nilan knew students and their parents could improve students' academic performance but lacked the opportunity. With a desire to channel the wisdom of those with lived experience to educators and the public, Diane founded HEAR US Inc., in 2005. Consequently, she sold her home and possessions, bought a small motorhome, and began traveling to non-urban areas across the country gathering stories from students and their parents. This one-woman nonprofit began filming and producing videos featuring hundreds of otherwise invisible students and families. These films provide firsthand stories to countless audiences including elected officials and school personnel.