Melissa K. Nelson
Melissa (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) became the first Native American executive director of The Cultural Conservancy in 1993 after the organization became Native-led in 1992. She served as TCC’s executive director until 2012 when TCC went through a major transformation to do more global work and start a regranting program. At that time of growth her position shifted to Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Melissa served in that capacity until 2021, when she stepped down as CEO and became chair of TCC’s board of directors. Melissa continues to be active with TCC’s Heron Shadow farm, the Native Seed Pod podcast, and curating TCC’s 30+ year history of revitalizing Indigenous lands and cultures.
In 2020 Melissa joined Arizona State University as a Professor of Indigenous Sustainability in the College of Global Futures, after working since 2002 as Professor of American Indian Studies at San Francisco State University. Melissa is a Native ecologist with a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of California, Davis.
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 an NDN Collective Changemaker and Switzer Environmental Fellow and has received awards for films, teaching, research, community engagement, social justice, sustainable agriculture, and experiential education. She publishes essays in academic and popular journals and books, and documents Native issues through writing and multimedia. She has edited and co-edited three volumes, Original Instructions – Indigenous Teachings for A Sustainable Future (2008), Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Learning from Indigenous Practices for Environmental Sustainability (2018), and What Kind of Ancestor Do you Want to be? (2021). She has served on the boards of Earth Island Institute, Bioneers, United Religions Initiative, the Golden Gate Biosphere Reserve Association, and the Center for Whole Communities. Melissa currently serves on the boards of the Sogorea Te Land Trust, Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, the Pawanka Fund, and the Native American Academy. Anishinaabe, Cree, Métis, and Norwegian, she is a proud member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.