Melissa Dowd joined our team this summer in a database administration role, and has been embraced by the team both for her professional talents and for her commitments to honesty, communication, and personal growth.
She’s a mother, wife, and professional life coach, with a deep commitment to teaching her children to live naturally in alignment with the very values for which the Whidbey Institute stands.
Before coming to the Pacific Northwest, where she studied to become a coach and started a family with her husband Kirk, she spent almost ten years in France. During that time, she lived in Burgundy, ran a small business, and did post-graduate studies in winemaking and soil science at the University of Dijon.
Melissa is excited about the new connections she’s been forming at the Whidbey Institute, both with people and the land. “A patch of dirt can make me weep,” she said. The care she feels for the land is mirrored in the care she takes of herself and others. “I drew the Whidbey Institute and the Whidbey Institute drew me,” she said. “It matters to me to be in a community committed to things like peace, connectivity, and collaboration.”