Heather Courtney Proctor is a United States Navy Disabled Veteran, filmmaker, and mom. She is the founder of The Lisboa Melanin Collective, which was created in 2021 to help bridge the gap between black and brown women and local Portuguese residents in the Lisbon area while supporting local and black-owned businesses. Through this collective, more organic relationships and connections have been formed. She is the founder and curator of Black in Portugal, based in Lisbon, officially launched in 2022. Black in Portugal focuses on assisting black expats from all over in visiting, relocating, and transitioning to Portugal, creating a wide variety of 75+ events that have brought together over 3500 attendees representing 44+ countries around the world. Heather has resided in Portugal for 2.5 years. She has also been featured in Travel Noire, Conde Nast Traveler, and People of Lisbon, to name a few.