Each week Christine and Salt interview the Badass Woman of the Week, a feature that aims to reward women who have overcome a challenge and emerged stronger as a result. Each Badass Woman wins an empowering B Badass bracelet from The Power to B and is featured on-air Fridays at 7:15 A.M. with Christine and Salt in the morning.
This week's Badass Woman of the Week is Melissa Urrunaga of Berlin. She's nominated by her dear friend, Lisa who writes, "Melissa is the definition of a Badass Woman in every way. We met in college in Virginia as two northern girls from Connecticut who drove epic 10 hour trips home together. We became sorority sisters and graduated together. As our sorority president, Melissa showed me her first signs of future greatness, serving others and being a natural leader. Melissa is a mom of four and has worked for the Department of Children and Families for 25 years. She cares so much about the youth that she works with in the DCF system that she developed her own curriculum and program about sex trafficking which she has shared with high school students and teachers across the state. When covid hit and she saw the need for mental health training for her peers at DCF as well as a self-care method, she took a 100 hour course to become a certified yoga instructor. When the need for mental health and licensed social workers became an epidemic, she answered the call to open up her own practice combined with yoga to further serve the youth and families in central CT, while still working for DCF."
But wait, Melissa's energy doesn't stop there! Lisa continues, "she volunteers for everything — pre-school co-op president, church committees, Boy Scout fundraisers, Girl Scout cookie coordinator, Berlin Fair, PTO, sport carpool driver, and — because she wanted more female voices in Berlin politics — she ran and was appointed to the Police Commission. Doing all this with four children ranging from fourth grade to a senior in high school, Melissa Urrunaga is a true Badass Woman and my personal hero!"
Check out Melissa's interview with Christine and Salt below!
