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    • Speaker Bio | Melinda Bak
    • Speaking Engagements

event speaker - melinda bak​


melinda delivers wit and wisdom

amplifying understanding and the conviction that you can make the world a better place



melinda asks our unspoken questions 
with self-deprecating humor, challenging us to embrace a new narrative 
where community isn't defined solely by difference but by what we share in common 


​
​communication strategist & author
​ 
School Director & Educator, Nonprofit Business Executive
with a BA in Journalism, a Masters and a lifetime solving entrenched problems



​diverse ages, audiences, ethnic groups
connect with facts, stories and skills that fearlessly confront our idiosynchrasies

​
we can change our community
​Melinda's passion and real life skills empower
 individuals, workplaces, schools, communities
melinda bak - resume
speaker engagements
Pastor Melinda Bak (Mindy Bak)
​​​
​​melinda bak lives the new narrative 
inspiring us to defy stereotype 
​& start a conversation

​​It was a sweltering night in 1979, without
air-conditioning or a fan.
 

​
Tossing and turning in the oppressive stillness, she coped because she was head over heels in love.  In love with a people and a place. Studying abroad on this southernmost Philippine Island of Mindanao was a dream come true.

A dream, right up until the moment the knocking started. Distant knocking. Then, incessant knocking.

"Silab! Silab!" 


Searching  her nascent vocabulary for a translation to the Cebuano word, she moved through the darkened room toward the sound. 

​Pulling back the white silken-curtains, she peered into a night that glowed ominously orange. She saw smoke, inhaled smoke. It came to her then, "Silab. Fire." Skin prickling with the encroaching heat, she was awake. Heading back in the direction of the flames, she yelled with a resonant voice from somewhere deep and unfamiliar, a voice loud enough to wake the sleeping, "Get out! Get out!"
 
Together they fled the tongues of fire already lapping the ceiling. Pajama-clad and covered in soot and ash, she and her host family stood bereft in the street. They watched and wept.  Wept with relief, that their lives had been spared. Wept with grief, when the piano fell from the upper story to the lower, wheezing a dirge of dissonant notes. Wept from the sting of smoke and senseless destruction.

It was the tip of a conflict that was still decades from washing up on American shores. Islamic forces had waged a jihad on this block of homes and businesses owned by Christians. And on this Island, Melinda was not only a witness to the callousness of insider/outsider thinking but standing barefoot in the street, she heard firsthand the weeping, the jeering and the cheering; the ruthless religious rhetoric on both sides. 

Picture

​With a fearlessness that is forged only in hottest flames, Melinda brings insider understanding to outsider thinking. She welcomes dissonant voices to the conversation. She creates new possibilities.
When you meet, make sure to ask her about her crazy post-fire wardrobe and how it changed her world. It may change yours.
​"Everyone has a story,
 a compelling story.


I help communities and businesses know and tell their story so masterfully that they are empowered to change our world as only they can.

​E
ngaging the trajectory of data and the dreams of people, 
I find the incredible in the story that's already yours.

​
I take on projects where pursuit of diversity and improving lives is resolute. 

​Let's innovate from entrenched problems to world-changing solutions!" 
​

melinda bak | contact​
Event Speaker Melinda Bak brings passion, wit, wisdom to a divisive world; amplifying understanding, empowering audiences with real skills to be the difference
Picture
Melinda knows how to deliver facts as well as a high-expectations challenge, wrapping needful information in a compelling story that moves people toward greater commitment toward the vision and mission of an organization.

She not only believes that we can change the world, but stakes her life on it. Melinda knows how to convey that message in verbally and in outstanding written communications.
​
​Christopher Glasoe, Managing Director, Doxa Advisors LLC, Principled Wealth Management

Linda Staats - Reference for Melinda Bak
Our communication and contact has always been professional… and centered on issues, national conferences… in which Melinda is a respected contributor and national leader. 

​Melinda is an outstanding speaker, presenter, and facilitator. At a recent national Milestones Conference, which I coordinated, she received outstanding evaluations from participants, all themselves congregational leaders.

Linda Staats, Generosity Project Coordinator, Intergenerational Engagement/ Global Mission, Board Member of Lutheran Association for Christian Educators

Mindy Bak
Picture
Melinda is the type of leader you WANT to follow... She sees the best in others, and they rise up to the level of her expectations.

Melinda is a compelling writer. Her writings inspire and motivate others. While she can easily gear her writing toward a specific demographic, it's quite impressive to watch her address a multi-generational crowd, keeping everyone engaged. She can mix in both relational stories and deep context with apparent ease. After one of her speeches, people line up to discuss their individual situations, and she takes time for each one. 

​Deb Nygaard, ​ACR Director of Development

Mindy Bak
Truth-Teller

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Melinda Bak, Mindy Bak, Pastor, Threefaiths
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speaker bio | melinda bak
speaking engagements
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melinda bak,  consultant ​
material on this site may be shared following the resources/copy guidelines 
​all reprints must include the threefaiths'
logo & website. 
www.threefaiths.org​
Three Faiths Views, Melinda Bak
​I have an editorial comment or found a mistake.
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building interfaith understanding
  • home
    • talking faith - blog
    • bridge builders
  • news
    • News | Muslims, Jews, Christians
    • News | Archives
  • refugees
    • Refugees | International Organizations
    • Refugees | Twin Cities Organizations
  • resources
    • Three Faiths' Holidays >
      • Best Hanukkah Gifts
      • Best Christmas Gifts
      • Best Ramadan and Eid Gifts
    • Student Internships
    • Pour Tea - Hospitality
    • Easy Conversation Starters >
      • Start a Community Conversation
    • Videos We Like >
      • Videos about How We Think
    • Links We Like
    • Businesses Practicing Religious Freedom
    • Copy Guidelines >
      • Privacy Policy
  • topics
    • Topics that Defy Stereotype
    • minority faith
    • Middle East >
      • Middle East | Travels
    • hello - in three faiths
  • twin cities
    • Holiday Volunteer & Donations | Twin Cities Interfaith
    • Action | Twin Cities Interfaith
    • Conversation | Twin Cities Interfaith
    • Education | Twin Cities Interfaith
    • Events | Twin Cities Interfaith
  • let's talk
    • Speaker Bio | Melinda Bak
    • Speaking Engagements