Melissa Darnell

Melissa is a facilitator and process designer who supports people in co-creating the futures they imagine for themselves and their communities. 

 

Specializing in relationship building as a vehicle to bring about positive social outcomes, Melissa brings over two decades of experience in facilitation, deepening community engagement and campaign management to her work. She is passionate about strengths-based interventions that build upon individuals' unique social and cultural assets as a strategy to solve complex social problems. She finds joy in conducting system leader and empathy interviews to support clients in discovering the existing expertise and opportunities within their communities.

 

Though primarily focused on rural communities, Melissa's work has been featured in a number of regional and national platforms including The California Endowment, Community Foundations Leading Change, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Research Network. Her work in rural youth leadership and development is highlighted in Twenty Years of Life: Why The Poor Die Earlier and How to Change Inequity by Suzanne Bohan. 

 

Melissa holds a master's degree in Social Work where she focused her studies on macro practice interventions and collective empowerment strategies to advance systems change. She has a BA in Sociology from the University of Oregon and resides with her family in what is now known as Yellowstone National Park.