Staff: Mela Moore

Mela Moore grew up in a large, extended family in a diverse community in Delaware. She developed a love for other languages, cultures, and dance from her neighbors from Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Jamaica. In college, Mela helped kids of incarcerated parents gain reading skills, as well as volunteering as a teaching assistant for adults from around the world taking classes at Wilmington Community College.

After completing her undergraduate degree, Mela followed some of her long-term personal dreams. She travelled most of Europe for a year by train, worked professionally in theater and film for 3 years in Minneapolis, and then took a job as a wilderness ranger in the beautiful Trinity Alps in Northern California. As a wilderness ranger, Mela realized that teaching people how to responsibly camp in the wilderness was her favorite part of the job and decided to pursue a career in teaching youth professionally.

Mela moved from the mountains to the coast, where she earned her teaching credentials from Cal Poly Humboldt in Spanish and English for K-12 students. Over the next 20 years Mela enjoyed the beauty of the pristine coast and Redwood forest while teaching in Humboldt County public schools with K-8 elementary students in a Spanish immersion program. While not teaching, Mela's summers were filled with trips to Spain and Mexico with her family. Their favorite activities were working with sea turtle conservation groups, whale watching, playing soccer, salsa dancing, making art, attending live theatre, and hiking in the mountains.

During her most recent teaching years, Mela taught reading intervention teacher in small groups to K-2 students. This experience led Mela to make the transition to work more one-on-one with students to make a greater impact in individual children's lives. Her adult son lives in Bend, and the job opportunity with Friends of the Children seemed absolutely ideal. She is incredibly happy to be part of a team making positive change in kids' lives and the Central Oregon community.