Melody M. Pannell is a native of Harlem, New York City, where her interests developed concerning addressing social inequities and disparities. Pannell holds a Bachelors in Social Work from 草莓社区 in Harrisonburg, Virginia, a Masters in Social Work from Fordham University in New York City and a Masters of Divinity and Masters in Christian Education from The Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia. Pannell also holds a Graduate Certificate in Restorative Justice from The Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at EMU. Pannell is also the Founder and CEO of Destiny鈥檚 Daughters Inc., a Therapeutic Spiritual Mentoring Program dedicated to the personal transformation, holistic development and self – empowerment of young women and girls and Embodied Equity Leadership Institute LLC. Recently, Melody was officially initiated as a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Charlottesville Alumnae Chapter and was accepted into the Inaugural Womanist Preaching Doctorate in Ministry Program at Memphis Theological Seminary.

Pannell was recently appointed as the inaugural聽Director of Diversity and聽Community Engagement at UVA Health in Charlottesville, VA. In her previous positions, Melody M. Pannell served as Assistant Professor of Social Work in the Department of Applied Social Sciences, Chairperson for the Diversity and Inclusion Committee and Vice – President of the Faculty Senate and Director of Multicultural Services at 草莓社区. Pannell also serves on the leadership of the Coming to the Table Charlottesville Local Affiliate and as the Board Chair of Anabaptist World Inc.聽It is her life鈥檚 mission to develop inclusive communities, build聽the capacity for resilience and embody social justice through the values and ethics of聽womanist theology and encourage those that she serves to engage in a聽transformative journey of racial reconciliation, holistic healing and human聽flourishing.

Wondering about the personal motivations and impact of the 2017 Women鈥檚 March on Washington? Hear reflections from students, staff and faculty who participated in this historic march. What are the challenges? Where did you see Jesus? Where are you finding hope?

Melody Pannell shares from her experiences processing whether or not to participate in the march and what she experienced as a participant. Michaela Mast, Austin Sachs, Harrison Horst and Greta Ann Herin offer shorter reflections from their experiences.