Melissa Kathleen Blair, Director

Melissa is a behavioral change and social marketing specialist with a wide range of marketing and communications experience focused on social impact initiatives. With a career spanning three continents, Melissa has worked with a variety of clients across non-profits, government agencies and corporations to achieve program and revenue objectives. She has led the development and execution of print, television, online and direct outreach campaigns.

Melissa’s work experience began in the social change agency world working at Manifest Communications and Stephen Thomas Ltd in Toronto, Canada, where she led and managed the strategic and creative development of projects for Veterans Affairs Canada, Health Canada, Governor-General of Canada, Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada among others. Most recently, she was an account director at The Reputation Group in Melbourne, Australia leading powerful work on reducing family violence and increasing gender equality for the Australian Government and The Department of Premier and Cabinet with the Government of Victoria.

For the past three years, Melissa led the start-up she co-founded focused on breaking down cultural boundaries through sports. She helped to expand the start-up from Australia into America last year, working with major league teams including The San Francisco Giants, The Brooklyn Nets and NYC Football Club from her home base in Denver.

Melissa has been a keynote speaker at various events, including the World Social Marketing Conference, Leading Social Change conference and numerous public-health forums. She has an Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Community Health Sciences and Business from Brock University in St. Catharines, Canada, and a Masters of Arts Degree in Health and Social Marketing from Middlesex University in London, UK. Melissa is currently a Marketing Lecturer for Brock University’s Masters of Public Health and MBA programs, the External Affairs Committee Chair for the Social Marketing Association of North America (SMANA), and is the former Marketing Director on the board of the Australian Association for Social Marketing (AASM).

Twitter: @MelissaKBlair