Who is Janet Melo-Thaiss?
I am a passionate and enthusiastic instructor, coach and photographer who believes that education has the power to change the world for the better. Winner of multiple teaching awards, including the President’s University-Wide Teaching Award (York University), I help students and emerging professionals chart paths toward the highest expression of their skills and talents.
In my work as a Professor, I cultivate and facilitate a love of learning in my students, working with individuals from diverse backgrounds to build strong critical thinking, writing, public speaking, and interpersonal communications skills.
But, my approach to education is a holistic one that moves outside of the classroom as well. With extensive experience and training in resiliency and mindfulness, I have supported hundreds of students and emerging professionals in my one-on-one coaching practice to find strategies to manage stress and overwhelm in adaptive and productive ways. One of my goals is to help others see that the whole world is a magnificent classroom, full of possibilities and wonder if only we are present for it.
Underpinning my work is the desire to help others to find their voice and tell their stories. And, I do so by showing others that there are many ways to do so. A firm believer in teaching by doing, I share my own storytelling journey via my photography.
Whether teaching or shooting, I am always seeking to bridge the gaps between language and image, thought and emotion. Finding ways to bridge those gaps that we all too often allow to come between ourselves and others, inspires all that I am and do. I believe that there are optimistic possibilities which come from meaningful connections between living beings and elements of connection which transcend our differences.
Wherever my work takes me, my goal stays the same: to lead, mentor, and inspire others to act, care and think for themselves. Everything that I do comes from my desire to make this world a more just, equitable and sustainable place – whether I do that in my one-on-one practice, in my classrooms, or with my lens.