MJB | Outreach

EMPOWERING YOUTH

Melissa serves as a Member of the Board of Directors at Youth in Arts, an arts education nonprofit. YIA's mission is to provide students with high quality experiences and instruction in the visual and performing arts, and cultural enrichment with a strong community bridging, social justice focus.

In the classroom, Melissa has developed & lead educational theatre curricula throughout the SF Bay Area as a Mentor Teaching Artist and Director. She is committed to empowering young people to express their authentic voice through devised original theatre production and other expressive arts techniques.

She specializes in working with at risk and special needs youth, students whose voices go unheard in their communities. She collaborates with non-profits in New York, San Francisco and beyond to grow programming for this vital demographic. Melissa brings together community leaders, professional performers, non-profit organizations, academic institutions and local businesses to uphold and celebrate the creative voice of emerging young artists.

Bay Area outreach programs included:

- The C Street Project: Performance + Visual Art = Community Integration, Director

- One Act Play Festival: Mixed Ability Theatre Project, Original Performance, Director

- Shakespeare Classroom Integration: San Rafael Unified School District

- Mixed Ability Dramatic Art Project: Summer Intensive, Original Performance, Director

- PlayMaking - Theatre & Literacy Curriculum, Original Performances: Novato Youth Center, Novato Unified School District (USD), West Contra County USD, Tam USD, Marin County Office of Education

and more.