Mel Moseley, MA

Certification Program Manager & Trainer

I’m a theatre artist, musician, writer, storyteller, coach, and general practitioner of doing my very best to live an authentic life. My ultimate goal is to get back to “Original Mel.” By that I mean, getting back to the person that I was before society, culture, and my family told me what I should do and how I should behave. I’m working on figuring out what I truly desire and what my boundaries are without those voices in my head.

My life mission is to “spread the gospel of sex positivity.” I have been doing that by touring my one-woman show Sexology: The Musical! across the US; teaching trainings with a focus on sex positivity and relational health; and telling the story of my journey from monogamy to polyamory on podcasts and in storytelling venues.

I am thrilled to be a part of the Among Friends mission to support people with intellectual and developmental diversity in their sexual and relational health. I truly believe that community and connection is key to a healthy society and I’m glad to do my part to make that possible.

  • I got both of my degrees 10 years apart at University of Oregon in Eugene, OR.

  • 2 years (as of 2024)

  • I am a performer, musician, and workshop facilitator with a focus on sex-positivity. I have toured nationally with my one-woman shows.

  • My work needs to align with my values and the rest of my life. I need to show up as myself and I want to be a benefit to the people I work with. Community, Self-Actualization, and Connection are key values to me.

  • After one of my shows I had a woman in her 80’s tell me that she finally understood her daughter’s alternative lifestyle in a better light. I love planting seeds that help heal relationships!

  • In theatre I had several including Augusto Boal (the founder of Theatre of the Oppressed), Keith Johnstone (the founder of Impro theory) and Scott Kelman (the creator of Kelman works). All of those guys focused on improvisational theatre in different ways – the through-line was working together to create stories – and in the case of Boal, to heal communities.

  • The people and the mission! I love that we are making positive change in people’s lives as a team.

Professional Information

  • I love playing guitar and writing music. I also love creating mosaic tables and frames! My partner, Steve, and I have a side business where we sell our “functional art” at local Farmer’s Markets and create tables by commission.

  • I have a cat named Penny. She’s adorable, but she really doesn’t know how to “cat” very well…

  • I live with my partner, Steve, in a lovely little house with a beautiful garden designed by an amazing friend of ours that we call “Happy House.”

  • I have a 22 year-old. He’s a journalism major and the University of Oregon and happens to be one of the most emotionally intelligent humans that I know. Steve has an 19 year-old that is with us part-time. He’s an incredible musician and is focusing on computer science at Portland State University.

  • I was born in Atlanta, GA, but grew up all over the country and the world. I was a faculty brat, so we moved around to different university towns and cities. I’ve lived in Palo Alto, CA; Chicago, IL; Paris, France; London, England; Denver, CO; and Boston, MA.

  • It changed everything! I was supposed to be on the road with my show from March through October of 2020. Then all of the bookings fell through and I had to pivot. I spent the quarantine doing data entry for a friend. When Shanya was looking for support for Among Friends, I applied for the job and made another pivot. That said it fits perfectly with my personal mission of “spreading the gospel of sex positivity.”

  • I spent 17 days in Eastern Europe driving around with a friend. It was not a destination I ever expected to go to, but he loved the area, so we went. It was both beautiful and sad. The devastation from the siege of Sarajevo was palpable with all of the gravesites. And they filled in the holes where the bombs fell with red resin. It’s astonishing.

  • Journey with Fog Hat and Blue Oyster Cult. I was 14.

  • My very favorite book as a young reader was The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I even wrote him a letter to tell him how much I loved his book and then later in graduate school I interviewed him for a show I was writing.

    And in 2023, my son got to play The Mathemagician in a production of the book at UO!

  • I love food with variety and an activity – and by that I mean food with lots of different components that you put together yourself. Think Mediterranean food (all those dips and bread, etc…) or Tapas (all those little plates). Food for me is about sharing and connecting with people.

Get to Know Mel