• 60th Anniversary
  • News & Culture
    • Arts & Events
    • Great Reads
    • 50 Years of Atlanta Pride
    • Atlanta After Dark
    • Atlanta 500
    • Groundbreakers
    • Women Making a Mark
  • Food & Drink
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • 50 Best Tacos
    • 123 Things to Eat on Buford Highway
    • 75 Best Restaurants in Atlanta
    • 50 Best Bars
    • Best Barbecue
    • Best Breakfast
  • Home
    • Artists & Galleries
    • Design Advice
    • Design News
    • Gardens
    • Real Estate
    • Neighborhoods
    • Real Estate All-Stars
  • Life & Style
    • Style
    • School Guide
    • Health & Wellness
    • Top Doctors
    • Top Dentists
    • Sponsored: Physician & Dentist Profiles
  • Travel
    • Southbound
    • 50 Best Things to Do in Georgia
    • North Georgia Mountains
    • Wild Georgia
    • Great Georgia Hikes
    • Jekyll Island
    • Georgia Travel Guide
  • Best of ATL
    • Food & Drink
    • Arts & Culture
    • Beauty & Fitness
    • Style & Design
    • Work & Play
  • Magazine
    • Subscription Center
    • Newsletters
    • Digital Editions
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Custom Media
    • Give Atlanta
    • Events
      • Upcoming Events
      • Past Events
        • 2020 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Designer Showhouse
        • Atlanta Baby and Beyond
        • Whiskey Festival
        • DINES: A Taste of the City’s Best Restaurants
        • 2019 Modern Style Showhome
        • Best Burger Battle
        • Pinewood Forest Idea Home
        • 2018 Modern Style Showhouses
      • Event Photos
    • Employment
      • Careers
      • Internships
    • Archives
    • Where to Find
Sign in
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Create an account
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Sign up
Welcome!Register for an account
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
Search
  • Subscribe
  • Subscriber Login
  • Newsletters
  • Issue Archive
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Atlanta 500
  • Give Atlanta
  • Business Forum
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Create an account
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Create an account
Welcome! Register for an account
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Atlanta Magazine Atlanta Magazine
Atlanta Magazine Atlanta Magazine
  • 60th Anniversary
  • News & Culture
    • Arts & Events
    • Great Reads
    • 50 Years of Atlanta Pride
    • Atlanta After Dark
    • Atlanta 500
    • Groundbreakers
    • Women Making a Mark
  • Food & Drink
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • 50 Best Tacos
    • 123 Things to Eat on Buford Highway
    • 75 Best Restaurants in Atlanta
    • 50 Best Bars
    • Best Barbecue
    • Best Breakfast
  • Home
    • Artists & Galleries
    • Design Advice
    • Design News
    • Gardens
    • Real Estate
    • Neighborhoods
    • Real Estate All-Stars
  • Life & Style
    • Style
    • School Guide
    • Health & Wellness
    • Top Doctors
    • Top Dentists
    • Sponsored: Physician & Dentist Profiles
  • Travel
    • Southbound
    • 50 Best Things to Do in Georgia
    • North Georgia Mountains
    • Wild Georgia
    • Great Georgia Hikes
    • Jekyll Island
    • Georgia Travel Guide
  • Best of ATL
    • Food & Drink
    • Arts & Culture
    • Beauty & Fitness
    • Style & Design
    • Work & Play
  • Magazine
    • Subscription Center
    • Newsletters
    • Digital Editions
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Custom Media
    • Give Atlanta
    • Events
      • Upcoming Events
      • Past Events
        • 2020 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Designer Showhouse
        • Atlanta Baby and Beyond
        • Whiskey Festival
        • DINES: A Taste of the City’s Best Restaurants
        • 2019 Modern Style Showhome
        • Best Burger Battle
        • Pinewood Forest Idea Home
        • 2018 Modern Style Showhouses
      • Event Photos
    • Employment
      • Careers
      • Internships
    • Archives
    • Where to Find
Home Women Making A Mark Melissa Proctor
Custom Publication

Melissa Proctor

She’s leading the charge for women in sports and business
By
Jennifer Senator
-
May 30, 2018
2142

Melissa Proctor learned early that persistence pays off. As a teenager, she dreamed of being the first female coach in the NBA. She repeatedly contacted her local team, the Miami Heat, about a job, and despite warnings of late nights and hard work, Proctor became the franchise’s first ball girl. “That’s how I got my start, mopping up sweat for the Heat,” laughs Proctor, 38.

She went on to study communications, art, and design at Wake Forest University and the London Institute. After graduating, she quickly become a trailblazer in brand development and strategy at Turner Broadcasting, serving in senior positions, until joining the Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena in 2014 as chief marketing officer. In that role, Proctor is charged with building the team’s brand and engaging its fan base. She led marketing efforts for the $192.5 million renovation of Philips Arena and revamped the team’s social media, mobile, and web presence, hoping to target a younger audience. “A lot of people move to Atlanta from other cities and end up settling here, having kids here,” she says. “We may not be able to convert the lifelong fan of another team in another city, but we can definitely be the team for their children.”

Proctor, who has a young daughter, credits her own mother and an early mentor at Turner with giving her the confidence to be herself at work. “That’s one of the things I’m most proud of—that I have never had to change who I am, how I dress, or how I look in order to continue to grow my career,” she says. Looking to pay her success forward, Proctor mentors members of her staff and other women in the male-dominated field of sports business. Her advice? “Nobody gets to where they are on their own.”

Advertisement
  • TAGS
  • Women Making a Mark 2018
Jennifer Senator

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

Custom Publication

Adria Perez

Custom Publication

Alicia Philipp

Custom Publication

Colleen Doyle

Follow Us

67,210FansLike
126,739FollowersFollow
493,957FollowersFollow

Newsletters

Atlanta Magazine
Since 1961, Atlanta magazine, the city’s premier general interest publication, has served as the authority on Atlanta, providing its readers with a mix of long-form nonfiction, lively lifestyle coverage, in-depth service journalism, and literary essays, columns, and profiles.

Popular posts

How to get Covid-19 vaccine Atlanta Georgia

Trying to get a Covid-19 vaccine in Georgia? Follow these tips.

March 25, 2021

Inn Spotlight: Hotel Domestique in Travelers Rest, South Carolina

April 2, 2021

Golden Eagle closes May 2, with quick-service Muchacho set to take over the space

April 6, 2021

GREAT READS

Has Covid killed Atlanta’s transit dream?

Will the pandemic ruin MARTA’s plans for its biggest expansion in decades?

February 23, 2021
Fulton County Elections 2020 Election

Inside the battle for Fulton County’s votes

February 3, 2021
Behind Georgia’s Covid-19 dashboard disaster

Behind Georgia’s Covid-19 dashboard disaster

October 24, 2020
  • Subscribe
  • Subscriber Login
  • Newsletters
  • Issue Archive
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Atlanta 500
  • Give Atlanta
  • Business Forum
© 2021. All rights reserved.