Mel Underbakke
Director of Education Committee in Temple Terrace, Florida
Mel Underbakke holds a doctorate degree in Interdisciplinary Education, and is an educator and researcher, formerly at the University of South Florida. She is also a founding member and director of Friends of Human Rights, which began shortly after the arrest of Dr. Sami Al-Arian in 2003. Since that time she has focused on calling attention to the current wave of pre-emptive prosecutions of innocent people, primarily Muslims. She has toured the country educating the public about the erosion of civil liberties since 9/11, screening the documentary "USA vs Al-Arian" more than 60 times on college campuses, and in churches, mosques, libraries and community centers. Since 2010, she has served as the Director of the Education Committee, and as a member of the Board of Directors and the Steering Committee of the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms. In addition, she is the editor of the NCPCF News Digest.