Melissa Oden

Position: Vice President of Program Development
Organization: Girls Inc of Tarrant County

Biography

Melissa Oden is a Fort Worth, Texas native who earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science from Texas Wesleyan University in 1997. She went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2001 and a Master of Public Health in 2006 from the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. During her tenure as an MPH student at UNT, she was involved in the Public Health Student Association and was a fellow for the More Knowledge in the Sciences (MKITS) program, teaching 6th grade Science at J.P. Elder Middle School. She was also named Outstanding Student in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department during her final semester at the Health Science Center. She is currently a Doctor of Health Education Candidate (DHEd(c)) at Andrew Taylor Still University School of Health Management in Arizona, where she is investigating levels of career self-efficacy in interns in a non-profit setting. Melissa has been a social worker for 8 years and a Certified Health Education Specialist for 4 years, and her work experience ranges from social work in hospital and long term care settings to teaching and public health education and community practice in the non-profit sector to professional development training. She also conducts health education workshops that focus on such topics as Women and Stress, Winter Wellness, and the role of Alternative Medicine and Treatments in Public Health. She is currently the Vice President of Program Development at Girls Incorporated of Tarrant County, and serves as a Field Instructor for social work, health education and counseling students at Girls Inc. She is a Licensed Master Social Worker with Independent Practice Recognition and a Certified Health Education Specialist. She is an active member of the Texas Public Health Association (TPHA), serving on that organization’s Governing Council. She is also a member of the Ram Wranglers, an alumni organization at Texas Wesleyan University that trains alumni to recruit prospective students to the University. She lives with her husband of 7 years, Jerry and their cat, Sam, in Arlington, Texas.

Speech Titles

-"So You Wanna Be A Social Worker?" -"Women & Stress: Reclaiming Your Life" -"Alternative Medicine and Long Term Care" -4 years of various training topics for child care directors, managers and staff -"How Girls Inc Made Me Strong, Smart and Bold" "Issues in Maternal and Child Health"

Speech Description

My speech topics range from talking with social work students about the profession of social work to talking with women about why they are stressed and how to handle the barrage of stress that they deal with on a daily basis to explaining the relationship of Complimentary and Alternative Medicine in Public Health. I was also the keynote speaker for the Girls Inc Annual Luncheon in April of 2006, and will be doing a professional presentation at the Texas Public Health Association's Annual Education Conference this April regarding the "Real Talk For Real Girls" program at Girls Inc. Additionally, I can speak about building internship programs in non-profit agencies.

References

-"How Girls Inc Made Me Strong, Smart and Bold" April 2006 -"So You Wanna Be a Social Worker?"Spring and Fall semesters each year since 2009, Tarrant County College, University of North Texas "Issues in Maternal and Child Health" University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, Spring 2010

Minimum Speaking Time: 30 min