Melissa Leaf Nelson (born Melissa Jane Leaf, September 11, 1960, Webster City, Iowa, U.S.A.), former social worker and retired quality improvement director for a healthcare organization; active poet, essayist, and photographer. Publishing haiku, senryu, and tanka since 1994 in print journals, notably Haiku Headlines, Brussels Sprout, Modern Haiku, Frogpond, Mayfly, Black Bough, Persimmon, and Point Judith Light, and online in Enchanted Garden Haiku Journal, Shadow Pond Journal, and Seashores. Nelson’s haiku sequences and haibun have been especially well received. Resides in Madison, Wisconsin.