Melissa (Mel) Robinson serves as Chaplain to both the Lower School and Middle School at Oregon Episcopal School in Portland, Oregon. This is her ninth year spending time with amazing kids and families, walking with them as they navigate growing up in this world at this time. Prior to serving as a school chaplain, Mel worked as a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and for different nonprofits in the environmental education field. She holds a Masters of Science in Wildlife Biology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and received her MDiv from EDS in 2015. She is also an aunt to two rad kids and has a five year old Doberman/cattle dog mix named Bodhi.
I entered seminary at EDS without knowing where it would lead, but simply knowing that is where I needed to be. And I left still not fully knowing where I was going, but with a deep knowing that I wasn't going anywhere alone--that I had lifelong companions and friends walking beside me and with me in the service of love and justice. It can be easy to get lost or turned around or turned upside down in this complex world--for me, my time at EDS and the connections made there offer me a sort of compass to help right myself toward the prophetic work of loving the world.