Associate Professor
University of Vermont
Email: kellymelekisphd@gmail.com
Web: https://www.uvm.edu/cess/profile/kelly-melekis

Dr. Kelly Melekis has taught courses on social work practice, research methods, and death, dying and bereavement for over 20 years. She practiced as a clinical social worker in geriatric mental health and substance use, and taught social work practice, policy and research at Boston University, University of Hawaii, and Skidmore College. Currently at the University of Vermont (UVM), Dr. Melekis is the MSW Program Coordinator. The UVM MSW Program provides a specialization in Transformative Social Work, which weaves together three critical strands that form and fortify our approach to the social work profession: critical social construction, the strengths perspective, human rights and social justice. A U.S. Fulbright Scholar in 2022, she taught at Vytautas Magnus University and explored cultural variations in end-of-life care in Lithuania.

As a gerontological social worker, Dr. Melekis’s scholarship focuses on 1) the health and well-being of vulnerable and oppressed older adults, particularly in terms of homelessness, housing, and social environment, and 2) the education and training of social workers, especially in terms of interprofessional practice in health and aging. Underlying the substantive content of her research are methodological considerations rooted in social justice and a commitment to including the voices and perspectives of marginalized populations and those who serve them, thereby providing a comprehensive sense of what works, for whom, and in what ways. She conducts primarily community-based research, with an emphasis on collaborative, participatory methods and her work contributes to improved policy, program development, and effective interprofessional practice.

Dr. Melekis’s research has been published in a range of interdisciplinary journals, including the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Aging and Mental Health, The Sociological Review, and the Journal of Interprofessional Education and Practice. She serves as a reviewer for several journals, including the International Journal of Housing Policy, Academic Medicine, and The British Journal of Social Work. Presenting her work regularly at national and international venues, she has given invited talks in Finland, Lithuania, Austria, Germany, and Japan. She is a board member for the Global Partnership for Transformative Social Work and the National Association of Social Workers Vermont Chapter, and is also an organizer of the International Summer School in Social Work at the University of Lapland, Finland.

In addition to precious time singing, dancing and laughing with her two daughters and cooking yummy vegetarian food with her husband, she loves traveling, reading memoirs, live music, the original Star Trek series, and maple lattes.