About Me

Melissa Jean teaches graduate-level courses in academic writing, creative writing, research methods, and mindfulness and the environment in the Mindfulness Studies masters’ program at Lesley University. She received an MFA in Fiction Writing from Lesley, and a PhD in Human Dimensions of Ecosystem Science and Management from Utah State University. Her writing has appeared in The Colorado Review and a variety of online journals, including most recently Roi Faineant, Backchannels, The Hopper, Waxing and Waning, and Causeway Lit. She also contributed poems to the Dream Geographies project, the anthology Reckoning: Tennessee Writers on 2020, and Poetry in the Boro’s 2023 poetry calendar.

Melissa is a Forest Therapy Guide, trained through the Association for Nature and Forest Therapy, and has also undergone Wilderness First Aid training. She is certified in Mindfulness Facilitation through Vanderbilt University’s Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. She is also a writing instructor at The Porch Writers' Collective, has participated in the Tennessee Naturalist Program, contributes well-being programming to the Tennessee Environmental Council, and has led classes, retreats, and forest bathing walks for many organizations in Middle Tennessee.

Melissa is available to teach classes and workshops on topics related to mindfulness, creative writing and creativity, nature-based practices, mindfulness and the environment, mindful pedagogy, and nature writing, among other topics. She is also available to lead forest bathing excursions in middle Tennessee for individuals, couples, and small groups. If you are interested in scheduling a workshop or event for yourself or your group, please email her at breatheoutsidenashville@gmail.com