Ms. Melanie Funchess has served as an advocate for children, youth, and families for over two decades. She is currently the CEO and Principal at Ubuntu Village Works LLC. An organization dedicated to creating culturally responsive community-driven healing and wellness spaces. Melanie has worked extensively in culturally responsive practice, implicit bias, family engagement, and empowerment. She presents, trains, and consults locally and nationally in cultural competence, community building, community partnership building, racial trauma and healing, and mental health in communities of color. Ms. Funchess has a TEDx Talk “Implicit Bias — how it affects us and how we push through …” that is available for viewing on YouTube.
Ms. Funchess has served and continues to serve on several national and community-based coalitions, initiatives, and organizations such as The Child, Adolescent, and Family Branch Council for the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), The National Network to End Disparities in behavioral healthcare (NNED), African American Leadership Development Program (AALDP), African American Health Coalition (AAHC), Black Women’s Leadership Forum (BWLF), Greater Rochester Black Agenda Group (BAG), Greater Rochester Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI), Community Task Force for School Climate (CTF), Roc The Future Parent Engagement Community Action Network (PECAN). She also served as a Commissioner of Schools for the Rochester City School District.
She is a devoted wife and mother of four children (two boys and two girls). Her mission is to use her knowledge of systems and communities to create culturally responsive spaces for healing and opportunities for youth and families to be empowered and successful. To rebuild the village, where every child is our own, we have front porch neighborhoods, and we use language that respects everyone.