Justice: July 16-17, 2026
Keynote
Melissa Damm
Melissa was a participant in Cohort 17, Mission Leadership Formation and attended the 2024 France Pilgrimage with the Sisters of St. Joseph.
Melissa is the Central Division Chief Financial Officer for Providence including Eastern Washington, Montana, Oregon, Texas, and New Mexico Regions. She has served as the Central Division Chief Financial Officer for Providence since 2022. She is responsible for the financial integration and performance of healthcare delivery operations, which has an annual net revenue totaling $8.8B, including acute care services, clinical programs, ambulatory care, and the physician division. In her role as Central Division Chief Financial Officer, she oversees operational financials, budgeting and long-range financial planning, capital expenditure and revenue cycle integration. Prior to her current role, she has served in successive finance leadership roles including the Oregon Region CFO and the Providence Medical Group Oregon CFO. Her background also includes medical group administration, patient access and clinical laboratory operations for Providence.
Melissa received her master’s degree in business from Seattle University, is a Lean Expert and Certified Change Facilitator and has over 25 years of experience in the health care industry. She served on the board for the Portland Rose Festival Foundation, OnPoint Community Credit Union through 2025, and in 2019, she was recognized by the Portland Business Journal as one of Portland’s “Forty Under 40.”
Sensory Focus
Smell: Some smells transform a situation: fresh rain on summer pavement, certain flowers, fresh cut grass, boiled eggs, familiar spices and Christmas trees. Over time, we can become desensitized to certain odors or aromas through repetition, like antiseptic soaps or cleaners in a hospital or engine oil and gasoline in car repair shop.
- Is there a smell that you think most people don’t like, but that you enjoy, or vice versa? For example, gasoline, pine needles, new car, old paperbacks, incense, tar, bananas, or basements. What smells evoke memories or strong emotions for you?
- Do you prefer to use unscented or scented products—or a mix? Do you make intentional choices for wearing or using scented products? What is your rationale?
- What happens with your sense of smell when you close your eyes? Can you imagine, even temporarily, losing your sense of smell? What would that world be like for you? How might you protect or even train your sense of smell?
Sesion Focus
Justice and smell may not seem connected at first, yet smell is one of the most immediate ways we experience closeness or distance. We are naturally drawn toward what smells pleasant and often move away from what unsettles us. In healthcare and in the world, justice asks us to notice where suffering exists and whether we are willing to remain present there.
Many of us can recall moments where a smell revealed something deeper: illness, homelessness, aging, neglect, loneliness, or even fear. The smell itself is not the injustice. The injustice is that human beings have too often been abandoned in those conditions. Justice calls us to move closer rather than further away.
In healthcare, we know that environments carry smells that can either create stress or foster healing. Fresh linens, flowers in a room, oils used in ritual, cleansing a body with tenderness, or creating calming spaces are all part of restoring dignity. As pod leaders, consider how smell shapes memory, emotion, belonging, healing, and even exclusion. Where do we encounter the “smell of injustice” in our work and communities? And how might we help bring the sweet smell of dignity, compassion, healing, beauty and hope to those on the frontiers and margins who most need to know they are not forgotten?
Session Pre-work
Ahead of the session, please take some time to review your pre-work.
Where in my leadership am I being invited to restore the right relationship with caregivers, communities, patients, systems, or even those with whom I disagree?
How does the mission and moral framework presented in the Ethical and Religious Directives shape your understanding of your role in Catholic health care?
Sr. Helen Prejean CSJ has a “prophetic voice” who has stood with people on death row and the marginalized for decades.
What changes in me when I move from seeing someone as a “case,” “issue,” or “problem” to seeing them as a person with a story?
Chronicles of the Journey Inspiration
We encourage you to capture key take-aways from your MLA experience. Your “Chronicles of the Journey” can be in any format that works for you: audio recording, slides, drawings, Word document, etc. The following activities may help in your reflection and documentation of this session:
Justice: The Work of Providence St. Joseph Health
Explore the efforts of the Providence Advocacy and Social Responsibility department: https://www.providence.org/about/advocacy-and-social-responsibility
Consider how the work of our Advocacy and Social Responsibility team brings action to concept and our organizational value of Justice.
Have you participated in any of the action opportunities offered by the Advocacy and Social Responsibility department? Have you seen these efforts in your local service line, ministry or community? In this session’s “Chronicles of the Journey”, consider including pictures, an article, thoughts, videos, or any other depiction or opportunity related to Justice.