MELISSA MORGAN

LET’S CONNECT

VERB

ALL THINGS BLACK

B-WELL COLLAB

LONG BEACH FORWARD

#RadAF Podcast!

Bio

Since moving to Long Beach, CA in 2001, Melissa Morgan (she/her/hers) has focused her professional and personal work in areas related to diversity and inclusion, civil rights, racial justice, economic equity, education, and youth-serving initiatives, primarily in communities across Southern California.

Melissa is unapologetically Black and believes that race and income should not determine one's future in Long Beach. Her passion for social justice and equity come from her roots as a biracial person growing up in the South, where she engaged people in community service and leadership development to build relationships and empathy for others' experiences.

Melissa graduated from the University of North Florida with a bachelor's degree in Graphic Design and a minor in Spanish. Upon graduation, she served as a Rotary Cultural Ambassadorial Scholar of Good Will in Merida, Venezuela, before making California her home. She has worked at the Anti-Defamation League, Orange County Human Relations Council, the Heart of America Foundation, the City of Long Beach Human Dignity Program, and the Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion. She is the co-founder of B-Well, a Black-centered mental health and education collaborative, founder of the online resource www.allthingsblack.us, and currently serves as Communications Director for the nonprofit Long Beach Forward.

Melissa leads www.verbworks.org, is a graphic designer, a creative, a youth advocate, a learning ally, and the mom of two awesome daughters. Melissa enjoys thinking out of the box, creating art, facilitating dialogue, public speaking, laughing, connecting people, giving voice to the unheard, and amplifying important messages.