Joy Thornburg Melton, J.D.
Joy T. Melton is an attorney and ordained clergy person in the North Georgia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. She is a partner in the law firm of Hindson & Melton, LLC in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to her law practice, Ms. Melton has served as the Chief Resource Officer for the United Methodist Insurance Company with responsibility for risk management and ministry protection for United Methodist congregations across the nation.
Ms. Melton is a consultant and an author of numerous books and articles related to risk management issues within the church. She is the author of Safe Sanctuaries: Reducing the Risk of Child Abuse in the Church; Safe Sanctuaries for Youth; Safe Sanctuaries: Reducing the Risk of Abuse in the Church for Children and Youth; Safe Sanctuaries for Children and Youth DVD; Safe Sanctuaries for Ministers; and Safe Sanctuaries: The Church Responds to Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of Older Adults. This series of books has become the foundational ministry protection resource for United Methodist ministries and the ministries of Baptist, Lutheran, and Presbyterian congregations.
Ms. Melton consults with churches and denominations throughout the United States in matters related to the prevention of child abuse, elder abuse, and risk management strategies for church trustees and financial leaders. Ms. Melton serves as a member of the Interagency Sexual Ethics Task Force of the United Methodist Church providing leadership training along with curriculum resources to judicatories and episcopal offices in the five jurisdictions of the United Methodist Church in the United States.
Ms. Melton is a 1977 graduate of Pfeiffer College (BA), a 1982 graduate of Scarritt College (MA), and a 1993 graduate of Emory University School of Law (JD). She currently serves as Secretary of the Board of Trustees of Pfeiffer University and Chairman of the Academic Experience Committee. Ms. Melton has just completed a nine year term as Secretary of the Board of Trustees of Lake Junaluska Assembly, in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina.
Joy is a member of the American Bar Association, and the Georgia Bar Association. Joy is also a member of The Sandy Springs Society and Heritage Sandy Springs, charitable organizations in her community.