For those of us who live at the shoreline
-Audre Lorde, “A Litany for Survival”
standing upon the constant edges of decision
Dr. Mel Michelle Lewis is an environmental arts & humanities thought leader, scholar, writer, and transdisciplinary artist deeply committed to ensuring systemically marginalized voices are central to shaping the future of environmental stewardship. Dr. Mel is the inaugural Executive Curator (ED) of Root to Flourish Collective, promoting interconnectedness between people and nature and cultivating a racially-just conservation, climate, and environmental movement through empowered leadership and community care. Dr. Mel is also Lead Coach & Consultant with The Art of Change Agency, supporting just and joyful ways of working, leading, writing, and creating. They teach environmental humanities and queer ecologies at Maryland Institute College of Art and support Planet Women’s 100 Women Pathway program as a facilitator. Dr. Mel serves as the board chair of Orion Magazine: Nature and Culture and is a board director with River Network and Greens REALIGN.
Previously, Dr. Mel provided strategic guidance and creative visions for the future of clean water for people and nature as Vice President for People, Justice, and Cultural Affairs at American Rivers. They also held the role of Affiliated Researcher with the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Mel served as Associate Professor and Director of the Ecosystems, Sustainability, and Justice Program, co-founder of The Space for Creative Black Imagination: An Interdisciplinary Making and Research Institute, and Chair of the Humanistic Studies Department at Maryland Institute College of Art. They have chaired the Center for Geographies of Justice, the Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Department, and Africana Studies Department at Goucher College, as well as the Department of Ethnic Studies at Saint Mary’s College of California.
Rooted in the Gulf South’s folklore, dialect, foodways, music, spiritual practices, and environmental justice landscapes, Dr. Mel’s creative work explores nature writing themes through the lens of Black, Creole, and AfroIndigenous knowledges. Their book Biomythography Bayou is available via The Griot Project Book Series at Bucknell University Press. Dr. Mel’s writing and art can be found in academic and creative writing journals and anthologies, including About Place, Artlines, Queer Nature, Women & Language, WSQ: Black Love, and Feminist Formations. Their forthcoming poetry and installation art project Waterbody is supported by American Bird Conservancy‘s Afrofuturism Collective and Re:wild.
Contact: melmichellelewis[at]gmail[dot]com
Dr. Mel Michelle Lewis 