Melissa Nelson
Evaluator
Dr. Melissa Nelson contributed to the research process in 2017 through serving as an evaluator for the cases assessed in the article "Creating Breakout Innovation" (Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer 2017 issue.)
Melissa Nelson
Melissa K. Nelson is a Native ecologist, writer, media-maker and Indigenous scholar-activist. She is the President/CEO of The Cultural Conservancy, which she had directed since 1993. In 2020 she joined Arizona State University as a Professor of Indigenous Sustainability, after working since 2002 as Professor of American Indian Studies at San Francisco State University. Her work is dedicated to Indigenous rights and revitalization, biocultural heritage and environmental justice, intercultural solidarity, and the renewal of community health and cultural arts. For over two decades Melissa has worked in the Native American food movement and since 2006 in international Indigenous food sovereignty. Melissa is a Switzer Environmental Fellow and has received awards for films, community engagement, and experiential education. She publishes essays in academic and popular journals and books, and documents Native issues through AV recordings. She edited two anthologies, Original Instructions – Indigenous Teachings For A Sustainable Future (2008), and Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Learning from Indigenous Practices for Environmental Sustainability (2018). She has served on the boards of Earth Island Institute, Bioneers, and the Center for Whole Communities. Melissa currently serves on the boards of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center and the Sogorea Te Land Trust. Anishinaabe, Cree, Métis, and Norwegian, she is a proud member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.
