Melissa Thomas

Background

About Melissa Thomas

I am the CEO and a Co-Founder of The Branch of Nashville. We are a non-profit that wants to help people make their way out of poverty. Our direct services include helping families with food assistance, English language learning, and navigation to other needed resources. We serve in the SE Nashville area, which is teeming with many from around the world who have made Nashville their home. Most of these have left difficult and even dangerous situations to bring their families to a place where they can grow in safety. We work to build a community where everyone can be welcomed and thrive. We work in partnership with many others, churches, businesses, schools and organizations to take good care of our community. I enjoy bringing people together to unite around a worthy task. I enjoy helping others tap into their talents, passions, and skill sets to build a place of compassion and excellence. I was previously employed as the Executive Director of Southeast Nashville Recovery, who managed the repair and rehab of over 300 homes after the Nashville 2010 floods. We were privileged to work closely with Hands on Nashville and other great organizations, as we partnered to allocate designated funds to help those who struggled to help themselves. The previous four years of disaster relief experience on the Gulf Coast, had equipped me for the task at Southeast Nashville Recovery. In that place, I continued to learn how to manage in a non-profit setting, work with volunteers from around the country, and take care of the needs of those in our neighborhoods. Before I managed disaster work in Mississippi, my 5 beautiful (now 6) children were my employer. I was most privileged to be at home with them learning time and stress management, budgeting on a shoestring, conflict resolution, education, listening skills, scheduling, and crowd control. My husband and children are the wind beneath my wings.