Mel Dawson
Correctional Facility Programs Manager
(802) 376-9637
Melissa (Mel) Dawson leads Restorative Justice and Reentry Programs at Southern State Correctional Facility (SSCF).
Mel is first and foremost passionate about honoring the humanity and dignity of all people, and working toward a more just world, beginning with her own children and family, and in the wider community. She has worked as a Family Therapist for over 20 years with families facing multiple challenges and marginalization. Mel has worked intensively with individuals who have experienced complex trauma and has recently completed a Sacred Grief apprenticeship. Mel is in the process of completing a coaching certificate in Soul-Centered Depth Psychological Coaching. Mel has also been trained as an herbalist and yoga teacher. In her less formal roles, Mel homeschools two of her three children, lives on an off-grid farm, and loves to take meandering foraging walks, grow and preserve veggies and herbs, knit, make music, and dance like there’s no tomorrow!
