Melba Proestos is dynamic, data-driven communications leader with more than 15 years’ senior experience spanning the arts, education, cultural and commercial sectors. Her specialist areas include content, marketing and brand strategy.As the Head of Marketing and Communications (and Head of Content and Communications) at Australia's national screen and broadcast school, AFTRS, she reported to the executive, providing creative and editorial direction across video content, social media, publications and public programs, while leading the organisation's marketing snd communications—internal and external—strategies. In addition, Melba was responsible for devising and implementing the organisation’s content, social media and brand strategies. Her role at AFTRS extended to guest lecturing and student mentoring. Among her most successful projects are the AFTRS rebrand (which was recognised with two Australian design awards), website redevelopment, distribution of student-made web series with +1M views on YouTube, and official merchandise design. In recent years, Melba has proudly led rewarding collaborations with the Biennale of Sydney, National Film and Sound Archive and Sydney Film Festival.Before being head-hunted to join the Australian Film Television and Radio School, Melba was the Publications and Content Manager at Sydney Film Festival (SFF), where she wrote and edited the program, and developed the digital communications strategy, launching social media campaigns that saw exponential growth in online engagement, translating to record-breaking attendances. Melba continues to work as a film programmer at SFF and is currently working on a soon-to-be-announced retrospective strand for the Festival's 70th edition.Over the last ten years, she has contributed to the programming and marketing of local festivals including Queer Screen, Antenna, Possible Worlds, Windows on Europe, Seen and Heard, and Cinema Reborn, as well as Sydney Writers’ Festival, Musica Viva and Golden Age Cinema in Surry Hills. Melba’s background in writing and editing encompasses publications such as The Sydney Morning Herald’s ‘Good Food Guide’, Qantas’ in-flight magazine ‘Spirit of Australia’, Time Out Sydney and Australian online film journal 4:3.