Rev. Dr. Michelle Lewis

Agent of Thriving, Climate & Environmental Justice

Rev. Dr. Michelle Lewis, Agent of Thriving, Climate & Environmental Justice, leads Ormond’s initiatives in environmental justice, climate care, and food insecurity. She is also Ormond’s ecumenical portfolio coach for Pathways Towards Impact—a project which includes churches that serve communities through on-site schools, providing educational support to teachers and after school care for neighbors, operating free stores, farming, and hosting community gardens. Michelle believes in the power of people working together to create more just and equitable communities. She believes the church can lead this work when it is focused on love.

In 2013, Michelle became the first person of color to graduate with joint degrees from Yale School of the Environment (M.E.Sc.) and Yale Divinity School (M.Div.). She also received a Sacred Music and the Arts certificate from the Yale ISM. Dr. Lewis completed her doctoral work at Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Her research has spanned using gardens to create sacred spaces in communities, the effects of greenspace on hospital patient outcomes, and how the natural world shapes the theologies of black coastal communities. She is ordained in The United Methodist Church and serves Roanoke Island Presbyterian Church. She is a former United Nations advisor and has done conflict work in the Middle East. An award-winning filmmaker, she founded the Peace Garden Project, a 501c3, and the Outer Banks Environmental Film Festival. Michelle is a native of the Outer Banks of North Carolina.