Melanie Pang, (she/her)
Clinical Assistant Professor
mepang@Central.UH.EDU
Room: 414 Social Work Building
Phone: 713-743-9620
Education
- MSW, Specialization in Political Social Work, University of Houston, 2012
- BA Communication - Journalism, LGBT Studies, University of Houston, 2010
PERSONAL STATEMENT
Melanie Pang joined the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work in August 2021 as a practicum faculty member. In September 2022, she continued her role as a clinical assistant professor outside of the practicum office and remains focused on teaching macro social work curriculum.
With more than 10 years of experience in community organizing and human rights advocacy, Melanie has served in a variety of communities and capacities to deepen empathy, advocate for resources, and shift systems toward justice. From advocacy efforts to reduce and prevent childhood obesity in food deserts, to serving as a case manager to refugee youth and children placed in foster care; from testifying in state committee hearings to protect the rights of transgender people, to pitching ideas on a national stage to create new ways to leverage data and prevent evictions, Melanie strives to affect change at every level oppression is felt.
A lifelong resident of the Houston area, Melanie has served in critical roles to respond and recover from large scale disasters in Southeast Texas. As Manager of Emergency Disaster Services at the Salvation Army of Greater Houston, she managed mobile mass feeding of first responders and community members, providing 422,000 hot meals and snacks and distributed 43,000 food boxes in Harris County alone, in addition to coordinating emotional and spiritual care to meet the immediate needs of disaster survivors, and providing financial and furniture assistance to support survivors long into recovery. She also served as a government relations officer and Director of Advocacy with the Houston Food Bank at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, leveraging partnerships and resources to expand organizational capacity, as well as advocating to local, state, and federal elected officials to increase access to much needed food and other resources.
Melanie also began to facilitate dialogue on social change, racial justice, and the connection of nonprofit work to poverty and racism. She believes that in order to live in a world without poverty, we must name and dismantle racism within ourselves and our organizations and policies. Committed to lifelong self-reflection and practicing anti-racism, she is an inaugural member of the Ukombozi Fellowship, a program of The Race Equity Leadership & Research Collective.
After earning her master's degree from the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work in 2012, she was invited back to the university as an adjunct professor to teach at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In May of 2018, she was presented the Humanitarian Award by the college of social work's student association.
Melanie is passionate about creating spaces for courageous dialogue, self-reflection, collectively imagining new systems, and shifting power as we reflect on the complex ways it shapes us and our struggle toward liberation.
COURSES TAUGHT
Social Policy Analysis
Social Work Practice in Organizations
Social Work Leadership