HELLO, MY FRIENDS!
Author and Speaker
I’m Melissa Dalton-Bradford, an author and keynote speaker. My latest book, How to Save Democracy: The Anti-Authoritarian Playbook, tracks the global rise of authoritarianism and, importantly, shows readers how to defend democracy. I’ve also written the award-winning Global Mom: A Memoir; published On Loss and Living Onward, an anthology of personal essays about traumatic loss, grief and resilience; and co-edited Let Me Tell You My Story, a photo journalistic compilation of firsthand refugee accounts. I’ve spoken at U.N.-affiliated conferences, international symposia and upper-schools, university forums—including law and business schools—and women’s conferences. I’ve also served on the advisory board of a top-ranked law school.
Globally Informed Educator
Educator and Humanitarian
My academic background (in German Studies and Journalism) and 35+ years of living across 8 countries and 6 languages are the foundation for my life’s mission: teaching democracy coupled with human goodness in a time when the concept of self-government is under enormous threat.
Advocate and Witness
How to Save Democracy
It’s one thing to report on distant tyranny, and another to sit with its victims knee-to-knee, face-to-face, eye-to-eye. I co-founded two thriving civic engagement nonprofits—one dedicated to refugee advocacy, and the other to women’s commitment to ethical government. I have been in the rooms, the tents, the huts, the streets, the courts, and can witness to democracy’s demise in my homeland and abroad, but also to the hope that rises when we stand for and with each other.
