Melanie O. Matson

My experiencing and witnessing systemic inequities drive my commitment to anti-oppression and liberation work. I believe in the transformative power of communities coming together in the service of work that holds space with one another, reduces harm, creates material change, and fosters individual and collective liberation for folx on the margins. One of my favorite quotes is, “If you have come to help me you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together” (Aboriginal Activists Group, Queensland, 1970’s). 

I have a BA in Social Sciences, MA in Counseling Psychology, and Ed.D. in Educational Leadership. I have been an advocate and preventionist for almost twenty years, facilitating coordinated community response teams, primary prevention strategies, assessment and strategic planning, professional development, student peer education and engagement efforts, and individual and systems-change advocacy, and serving in leadership roles on local, state, and national committees, task forces, associations, and coalitions. I am the founding director of the Healing & Advocacy Collective at Emerson College in Boston, MA. I enjoy exploring, learning, reading, being in nature, walking with my dog Truman, and facilitating trauma-informed yoga.