Melodye Feldman

Founder and Executive Director, Seeking Common Ground

Melodye Feldman is the founder and executive director of the internationally known grass-roots organization Seeking Common Ground.

In 1993 after the historic Oslo peace agreement Melodye co-founded Seeking Common Ground and the program Building Bridges for Peace. The program brings together Palestinian and Israeli young women for a summer intensive in the United States and on going programming when the young women return to their respective communities. Based on a female paradigm of peace building, the program is a model for developing young women’s leadership programming.

To date as the violence escalates in the Middle East the Building Bridges For Peace program continues to thrive with a waiting list of Palestinian and Israeli women wanting to attend the program. Seeking Common Ground is preparing to open an office in Jerusalem to advance women and girls leadership development and peace work.

In 2000 Seeking Common Ground partnered with Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City to create Face to Face / Faith to Faith, an interfaith program that brings together high school students (male and female) from Israel, S. Africa, N. Ireland and the U.S. to address the role that religion plays in waging war and making peace in the world.

In addition to having spent extensive time in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza meeting with government officials from both sides as well as meeting and interviewing many private Palestinian and Israeli families, peace activists, and human rights organizations, Melodye has over 25 years of non-profit experience in the United States, primarily working with women and children. She has been a consultant for the US Department of Justice as a trainer for Native American law enforcement agencies on Reservations in North Dakota.

Melodye holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Philosophy of Education and Human Services from Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, and an MSW from the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work.

Melodye lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband Josh Gould, their son Coby, and their golden retriever Bizkit and goldendoodle, Choco.

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