Melissa Shang

Melissa Shang is a 13-year-old seventh-grader at Sarah W. Gibbons Middle School in Westborough, Massachusetts. She started a viral petition for Mattel Inc. to release an American Girl doll who had a disability in December 2013. Her petition gathered 150,000 signatures, and was featured in the New York Daily News, Buzzfeed, USA Today, CBS, HLN, Oprah Magazine, and other major news outlets.

Melissa has Charcot-Marie-Tooth, a form of muscular dystrophy, and uses a wheelchair. She has spoken about disability representation at the United Nations, TEDx events, and alongside Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai.