My journey through life has been filled with transformative experiences that have shaped my deep compassion for caring and supporting others. From my time as a school chaplain, police chaplain, and navy chaplain, I’ve had the privilege of working with children, teachers, police officers, staff, and Australian Defence Force personnel. I have taught chaplains in Australia, New Zealand, and United Kingdom.
I’ve had the richest experiences in community with others. My work in the private sector as a graphic designer honed my skills in attention to detail, creative analysis, and logical reasoning. Serving communities worldwide as an aid and development educator, motivational speaker, and chaplain has given me insight and empathy for people’s behaviour, and taught me the value of maintaining a high level of ethics, integrity, and professionalism at all times.
My educational qualifications as a Baptist Minister and Chaplain (B.Min, Dip.Th, Grad.Dip.CM) and as an adult educator (M.Ed and Ed.D) have equipped me to read critically, conceptualise, analyse, and synthesise complex problems, write creatively and theoretically, find and generate solutions, and effectively apply myself to teaching, research, and administration tasks.
My life experiences have influenced the way that I approach challenges with self-confidence, self-control, and sheer determination to make a difference. With 36 years of public speaking across the world, including documentaries and television; and writing various genres, including five published books, journal articles, a doctoral thesis, chaplaincy courses, manuals, reports, and a couple of movie scripts.
Rev Dr Melissa Baker