About

Hi! I’m Melanie (she/her/hers), and this is the part where I tell you a little bit more about me.

I am a white (Scottish, Italian, and Polish lineage) cis, queer, fat witch. I struggle with depression, anxiety and chronic pain. These labels and experiences have brought me to this work and I come to this work with a passion for social justice and a deep respect for the human experience and our innate ability to heal.

I believe that each of us has a story to tell, that each of us is worthy of love, connection, fulfillment and a fully embodied life.

I spent a large part of my life incredibly dissociated from my body – I oftentimes felt like my head was a balloon on a string floating around, connected somewhere to my body – sometimes I still do. Living in a fat body, experiencing mental health issues and chronic pain – it is a daily struggle to be present, grounded, embodied. There is hardship and joy in this process but ultimately I know that the more I (and we as a people) learn to truly be embodied, the more power we have to say yes to what we want and no to what doesn’t serve us, and to create and sustain a more just, liberated, joyful world for all.

As a white person and practitioner, I am committed to continuing to do the work of unlearning and coming to terms with my role in the perpetuation of white supremacy culture. As someone who has experiences of dis-empowerment I work to acknowledge these areas while also owning my privilege. My life’s work is balancing the holding of both/and not either/or.

I love to learn and am super grateful for the access I have had to different types of education. In the more traditional academic sense, I have an undergraduate degree in Gender Studies and a Masters degree in Community Counseling (MS). I have completed a three year program with the Trauma Institute to become a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP). I am currently enrolled in two programs that are actively shaping the work I offer – Center for Body Trust and The Embodied Recovery Institute.

Currently, my outside-of-work life is filled with negotiating with a toddler; enjoying quality time with my amazing group of friends; activism, reading, trashy tv; spiritual exploration and baking. In another life, I would be a talk show host or a stand up comic.

I believe it’s important to name and honor the experiences and in particular the people who have helped shaped me and how I show up. This is by no means an exhaustive list and while my listing these teachers is an honoring of the knowledge I have gained from them it is not a 100% stamp of approval. We are all complex, messy humans (including me!) and I do my best to keep that in mind anytime I learn from someone new.

adrienne marie brown

Aubrey Gordon

Center for Body Trust