Fitzgerald, left, played White House aide Carol Fitzpatrick on “The West Wing,” and many of her scenes looked like this, reacting to some sharp repartee from Allison Janney, right, as press secretary C.J. Clegg, while actor Timothy Busfield looks on. (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.)[/caption]

by Len Lear

"I was really spoiled after being part of 'The West Wing,' which was so beautifully written," Chestnut Hill native Melissa Fitzgerald once told us. Now 50, Fitzgerald's face will be familiar to anyone who watched “The West Wing,” the multiple Emmy Award-winning TV drama that ran from 1999 to 2006 in which cutthroat presidential advisers got their personal lives hopelessly tangled up with professional duties.
Fitzgerald graduated from Springside School in 1983 and then earned a B.A. in drama and literature from the University of Pennsylvania. While at Springside, she was an active member of the theater group that was then called Chestnut Hill Academy Players and later renamed "The Players."

On “The West Wing” she played a staff person, Carol Fitzpatrick, for seven years in 101 episodes. One critic wrote that “Nothing rattled her. She could banter with C.J. about the lyrical meaning of 'I’m Too Sexy,' then shoot Josh Lyman a death glare for screwing up his lone attempt at a press briefing, all before breaking for lunch. She shot a death glare at Josh in the episode called 'Celestial Navigation.' She might not have even had a line in that episode, but she stole it.”

Melissa has described herself as an "actorvist" because she has always been equally interested in acting and political activism. "Doing a show about politics," she said, "is exciting and timely and relevant.”

Melissa grew up surrounded by politics. She has known former Pennsylvania Governor and Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell since she was a child. Rendell and her father, James J. Fitzgerald III, now a Pennsylvania Superior Court senior judge, worked together in Arlen Specter's Philadelphia District Attorney's office. Her mom, Carol, has also been active in community betterment efforts. For many years, in spite of growing up in a Republican family, Melissa has been an active campaigner for Democratic candidates, her old friend Rendell among them. 
Despite the fame and fortune that comes from having a significant role on a long-running network TV series, Melissa still once said that acting was a "horrible profession."

“What I meant by that,” she told us last week, “is that it is a hard life. When I was acting, I felt like I did not have much control over my career or even my work. The uncertainty can be really hard to deal with because there are times when you never know when your next job is coming. You have almost no control over your schedule.

“The joke is if you want to get a job, book a vacation! I missed my father’s 60th birthday celebration because I was shooting a movie. I wasn’t supposed to work that day, but they changed the schedule at the last minute, and I tried to work it out, but they could not accommodate me, and I had to miss it.”

In addition to her work on "The West Wing," Melissa worked in an episode of the popular TV series "Grey's Anatomy," as well as two films directed by her ex-husband Noah Emmerich, "The Painter" and "The Date," and other films.

On January 19, 2007, Nicholas D. Kristof of The New York Times announced that Fitzgerald was the winner of a writing contest he had sponsored on the subject of Darfur in Sudan, where starvation and civil war had devastated the country for years. On May 17, 2008, Melissa received the Chestnut Hill College Medal, and she was the graduation speaker for the commencement exercises of Chestnut Hill College's class of 2008.

In November, 2013, Melissa Fitzgerald joined a non-profit organization called Justice For Vets in Washington, D.C., as its Senior Director. The mission of Justice For Vets: "Veterans fought for our freedom; now it’s our turn to fight for theirs. We enable the creation of a nationwide network of Veterans Treatment Courts that is transforming the way veterans are handled in the criminal justice system. In doing so we will keep veterans out of jail and prison, saving their lives, their families and their futures while saving tax dollars for the American public."

The first veterans treatment court was started in Buffalo, NY, in 2008. Currently there are just over 260 operating across the country with hundreds more in different stages of planning and implementation. This translates to roughly 13,000 veterans who would otherwise be incarcerated but are now receiving life-saving treatment.

Philadelphia has one of these veterans treatment courts presided over by a veteran named Judge Patrick Dugan. “I have visited the court several times,” said Melissa, “and I always leave inspired by the incredible work they do.”

According to the former “West Wing” actress, “It is important to point out that the vast majority of veterans are strengthened by their service. They return from service as true civic assets in the community. Unfortunately, we also know that some veterans struggle with the transition home.

“Veterans treatment courts emerged because too many veterans were becoming involved in the justice system due to criminal activity related to substance abuse and/or mental health conditions such as PTSD. Rather than lock veterans behind bars, veterans treatment courts aim to connect them with the benefits and treatment they have earned. Veterans are held accountable, but they are also given the support they need to get their lives back on track.

“Veterans treatment courts are an extension of the drug court model, the most successful intervention in our nation’s history for leading people struggling with serious addiction out of the justice system and into lives of health and recovery.

“At Justice For Vets we often hear from veterans in these programs who say that veterans treatment court was the first time they felt that the system saw them as an individual and treated them with dignity. I think the entire justice system could learn from the success these programs are having.”

According to Max Cleland, former U.S. Senator from Georgia who lost both legs and half of his right arm in combat in Vietnam, “In the years I have known Melissa, she has been a seeker of truth and justice, a champion for the underserved and a fervent advocate for veterans. She has walked on the battlefields of Uganda to help save former abducted child soldiers and brought the stories of American veterans to film.”

Justice for Vets hopes to put a life-saving veterans treatment court within reach of every veteran in need in the U.S. As a result, part of Melissa's job is fundraising as well as lobbying on Capitol Hill for more funding. “But the absolute best part of my job,” insisted Melissa, “is interacting with the men and women who participate in these programs. They are some of the finest people I have ever met, and I am honored to work on their behalf.”

For more information, call 571-384-1870 or visit www.justiceforvets.org

-- To be continued