Dr. Mel Michelle Lewis
Dr. Mel Michelle Lewis (she/they) is Vice President, People, Justice, and Cultural Affairs at American Rivers. In this role, Dr. Mel provides strategic guidance on social and environmental justice initiatives and creative visioning for the future of clean water for people and nature. Dr. Mel is also a Collaborator with The Art of Change Agency and serves on the board of Orion Magazine and Greens REALIGN. Prior to joining American Rivers, Dr. Mel was 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 (Maryland Institute College of Art). Previously, they also chaired the Center for Geographies of Justice, the Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Department, and Africana Studies Department (Goucher College), as well as the Department of Ethnic Studies (Saint Mary’s College of California).
Originally from Bayou la Batre on the Alabama Gulf Coast, their creative work explores queer of color nature writing themes and curated images in rural coastal settings. Their book Biomythography Bayou is available via The Griot Project Book Series, Bucknell University Press.