Mel Embury

Experience

• 

  YHA Australia

  Aug 2007 - Mar 2012

  Manager of Accommodations and Sales

  I was the Hostel Manager at Hostelling International Granville location in Vancouver, Canada and at the award-winning Sydney Harbour location in Australia.

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  Corporate Traveller Canada

  Apr 2012 - Sept 2016

  Account Manager

  I managed a portfolio of corporate clients as a travel solutions specialist. Our team won various awards in the travel industry.

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  Reebee Inc.

  Oct 2016 - Oct 2018

  Operations/Finance/Digital Marketing

  Every day was a different challenge in a startup, especially on a small team. I helped grow the brand by applying knowledge of digital marketing/communications principles, best practices, market research methodologies, analysis and evaluation.

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  Freelance

  Jun 2018 - Sept 2022

  Freelance Journalist, Editor and Media Consultant

  I write, edit and consult for publications, projects, cities, organizations and businesses. Clients include Downtown Kitchener BIA, Friends of Ruby, Own It Magazine, Culture Days, Taste Toronto, BlogTO, Draft Canada, Uhura Media Agency.

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  The Community Edition

  Jul 2018 - Apr 2021

  I managed and ran the Community Edition, Waterloo Region’s independent monthly newspaper; a volunteer-fuelled newspaper that operates as a not-for-profit using a traditional NFP governance structure. I strove for community-powered journalism and listened to our audience, modelling the Community Edition on The Discourse's 10 principles (they changed the industry): https://thediscourse.ca/our-10-principles. Here's what I was responsible for in my role as editor-in-chief:• Changed our funding model so everyone could participate and be paid fairly.• Guided hundreds of stories from the concept stage to publication, and I managed a team of over 100 volunteers adhering to tight deadlines, while mentoring the volunteers to help them grow — writers, photographers, copy editors, social media managers, graphic designers and illustrators.• Curated, assigned, edited and proofread content every month; ensured that each article was fact-checked, followed CP Style and that the content we produce was relevant to our audience.• Designed the monthly print newspaper, used InDesign, Photoshop and other premium Adobe Creative Cloud products.• Managed our WordPress website communityedition.ca; uploaded content monthly through WordPress on an intermediate to expert level.• Drove content growth: used diverse tools across platforms for web and social media.• Performed in-depth analytics, to track how our stories were engaging our audience and maximize SEO and other strategies.• Worked alongside a publisher and advertising manager to maximize profit. Hosted, planned and executed fundraising initiatives, such as monthly trivia nights, movie nights and Steel Rails, our annual mystery art party.• Managed all social media channels and grew our reader audience substantially. • Managed a budget of $40,000, and honorariums for all our contributors, while working with our financial department. Show less

  • Editor In Chief

    Oct 2019 - Apr 2021

  • Staff Writer

    Jul 2018 - Nov 2019
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  Downtown Kitchener Business Improvement Area (BIA)

  Oct 2020 - Sept 2022

  Editor

  I was the ongoing editor of the Field Guide for DTK’s Art Walk, in partnership with KWAG and the BIA, to create a public art installation with hundreds of murals from artists around the globe.

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  The Home Pitch

  Jan 2022 - Jan 2023

  Founder

  Provided rigorous in‑depth solutions journalism that accurately reflects communities and lives. Built to tackle the pervasive and growing inequities in our city and serve underrepresented communities through long-form reporting.

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  Corporate Traveller Canada

  Sept 2022 - Jun 2023

  Corporate Travel Manager

  I managed a portfolio of corporate clients as a travel solutions specialist. Our team won various awards in the travel industry. I also worked in this role from 2012 to 2016 with Corporate Traveller.

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  Good Foot Delivery

  Jul 2023 - Feb 2024

  Operations
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  Indiegraf

  Feb 2024 - now

  Publisher Guide (Project Manager)