Melody Ermachild Chavis

MELODY ERMACHILD CHAVIS is a private investigator who works on trials and appeals for death row inmates. She has served as cochair of the Berkeley Community Partnership for Substance Abuse Prevention and has been honored by the Berkeley Commission on the Status of Women for her outstanding contribution to the community. She is a youth justice advocate who volunteers with a community gardening program for youth at risk. A student of Zen Buddhism, she is a member of the board of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. She is a mother and grandmother, and lives with her husband in Northern California.