FIONA LEONARD, (OAM) is an author, playwright and filmmaker. Fiona self published her first two novels and subsequently sold the second - a political thriller called 'The Chicken Thief' - directly to Penguin Random House (South Africa). In 2022 she was commissioned to write a series of three action thriller novels for the US online publisher, Rogue Matter. The first of these - 'Ketcher: Death Wish' - was published in September 2024.Fiona has also been involved with theatre both onstage and backstage for over forty years, including working as a volunteer with a theatre company in Zimbabwe and for six years as producer for the International Players theatre company in Accra, Ghana. She has been writing for theatre since 2014 and for film since 2020, most recently winning a best writer award at the Short+Sweet Hollywood Theatre Festival in Los Angeles in June 2024.She has lived in seven countries on four continents and in 2015, moved to Düsseldorf, Germany. In 2018 she formed Blue Goat Theatre as a home for original and innovative English theatre. Her plays have been performed in seven countries and in two languages. In response to COVID-19 and social distancing, during 2020 Fiona instigated and managed five 23 Hour Festivals online. Over the span of the five festivals, 98 artists, from 20 countries, on 5 continents put 38 new pieces of work out into the world. These projects were created solely through online collaboration with artists working across continents, time zones and language barriers.In 2021 she wrote and directed the award-winning film, Beyond the Trees. While it was shot in Germany, the film brought together a team of artists from three countries working remotely.Key Competencies and Attributes:Excellent written and verbal communication skills.High level strategic policy development experience.Experienced industry stakeholder facilitator.Demonstrated communications record, including formulating communications strategies, and drafting, editing and publishing articles, ministerial briefing, speeches, reports, press releases and website content.Specialties: art, consulting, content management, council, design, feature writing, financial, government, management, market planning, marketing, meeting facilitation, microsoft office, negotiation, networking, publicity, research, strategic, training programs, writing,