About me
Melannie Denise Cunningham is sought out locally, nationally, and internationally as a social justice thought partner because of her passion, unapologetic talk, and activism around anti-racist community building and healing. Melannie’s leadership spans several industries, including college administration, media, public relations, government service, television/radio production, and entrepreneurship. Her work has impacted many as Director of Multicultural Recruitment at Pacific Lutheran University, Equal Employment Opportunity Officer for the City of Tacoma, or as a listener to her Channel 253 podcast What Say U? She has lived in Lakewood/Pierce County, Washington, for 50 years. In 2018, the Greater Tacoma Peace Prize Committee selected Melannie as Peace Laureate– recognizing her lifetime achievement work in racial reconciliation. As for “the prize,” she was gifted a trip to Oslo, Norway, to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. She took a media crew with her to film this unique opportunity. They produced a 30-minute television documentary about Melannie’s experience titled “Peace Queen” that aired on KBTC-TV. Melannie was recently awarded a Northwest Regional Emmy Award for her role as Executive Producer.
Peace Queen (Melannie) serves the community in many ways. She is the founder and President of Peace Works United, a non-profit organization that promotes peace and goodwill everywhere, all the time. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for Northwest Harvest – a food justice organization and the largest food distributor in Washington State and the newly formed South Sound Leadership Foundation.
Melannie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington State University, an MBA from Pacific Lutheran University, an MA in Organizational Leadership and Change from Fielding Graduate University, and is currently a doctoral student at Fielding pursuing a Ph.D. in Organizational Development and Change.
