Name: Melissa Pineda Brown (she/her)

Where is home to you? Annapolis, MD

Placement Site: Social Enterprise Greenhouse

Education: B.A. in Anthropology & Sexuality, Women’s and Gender Studies with a certificate in Reproductive Rights, Health and Justice, Amherst College

Biography: Melissa was born and raised in Annapolis, Maryland, before moving to western Massachusetts to attend Amherst College, where she earned a BA in Anthropology and Sexuality, Women’s and Gender Studies. During college Melissa enjoyed engaging in activities relating to reproductive rights, gender justice and medical anthropology. As of August of 2020, Melissa has joined AmeriCorps and is serving as Community Outreach & Communications VISTA for SEG. She looks forward to learning about the labor that goes into helping social ventures achieve success. 

Why I Serve: As a recent college graduate I was privileged enough to learn about social justice initiatives in classrooms but have not had the opportunity to actually engage in work that creates tangible social impacts in underserved and marginalized communities. AmeriCorps is granting me that opportunity and I am very grateful for it.

Why Brown University AmeriCorps VISTA Fellowship? As someone who can see myself one day working as a professional in the world of academia, I am interested in observing how an academic institution actively gives back to the community in which they are situated. Additionally, I’m appreciative of the particular resources available to VISTAs within this Fellowship due to its affiliation with Brown University.