Mario Manuel Catalino Melendez is Filipino and Cajun French and grew up around the deaf community. He is the Augie Henry Chair of Old Testament and assistant professor of Old Testament and Biblical Studies at Oklahoma Baptist University. He has also served as a minority ministry strategist, Hispanic youth intern, and bible study writer for a refugee church, as well as lecturing on the topic of multi-ethnic ministry. He is a participant in the Hispanic Theological Educators section of the Evangelical Bible Society. He has served as a multi-ethnic ministry consultant in English, Asian, and Hispanic churches in Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Oklahoma.