Melissa J. Nelson is an archivist, educator, and community connector based in Toronto, Canada.  

Her work centres Black being and belonging in the Archives to support collective healing and liberation movements. Melissa believes in the power of faith, hope, and imagination for creating new worlds for endless possibilities for Black life. In 2023, Melissa was the recipient of the Association of Canadian Archivists’ New Professional Award and Ancestry Award. 

Melissa works simultaneously at the community and institutional levels to transform how we understand, preserve, and activate collective memory. She has a consulting practice spanning across notable clients such as Harvard University, ARMA International, Library and Archives Canada, Association of Canadian Archivists, among others. 

Melissa is the Founder and Creative Director of the Black Memory Collective. She is also the Creator and Host of the podcast, Archives & Things. Melissa holds a Master of Information Studies from McGill University. She received a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in History, with a minor in Sociology, from Carleton University.