Ann Crews Melton
Executive Director
Ann Crews Melton is a facilitative leader, nonprofit strategist, and consensus builder. Ann joined Consensus Council in 2020, and has significantly grown the organization’s staff and statewide programming. She first used the consensus model of decision-making as co-moderator of the National Network of Presbyterian College Women. Her career has prioritized ecumenical and interfaith relations, including roles at the Presbyterian Church (USA) and Temple Israel Boston. She remains committed to dialog across differences, as well as to the transformative power of the arts and humanities. Ann previously served as an editor at the State Historical Society of North Dakota and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, and as a reporter and columnist at the Bismarck Tribune.
A Texas native, Ann holds a bachelor’s degree from Austin College and a master’s degree from Emerson College in Boston. She presented “Building Consensus Across Differences” at TEDxAustinCollege in 2021.
Ann serves on the council of Heart River Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation that meets at the ND Heart River Correctional Center. She is a former board officer of Humanities North Dakota and League of Women Voters candidate forum moderator. Ann is a strong proponent of civic engagement, civil discourse, and participatory decision-making. She lives in Bismarck with her husband and two daughters.