Ms Melbārde has worked as Secretary General of the Latvian National Commission for UNESCO, Deputy State Secretary on Cultural Policy at the Ministry of Culture, Country Manager of the British Council Latvia, Director of the National State Centre for Arts Education and Intangible Heritage and the organizer of the Latvian Song and Dace Celebration. As she took upon the role of the Minister for Culture, Ms Melbārde also returned to the Latvian National Commission for UNESCO as its president. In 2013, Ms Melbārde was Chairperson of the Culture Commission during the 37th session of the General Conference of UNESCO. Under her leadership the Latvian Song and Dance Celebration tradition was applied for inclusion in the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Ms Melbārde holds MA in Theory of Culture (Latvian Academy of Culture, 1996) and MS in Public Administration (University of Latvia, 2001).