Jeanne Ellinport Appointed AMTA Executive Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 19, 2019

Jeanne Ellinport Appointed AMTA Executive Director

SILVER SPRING, MD– The Board of Directors of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) is pleased to announce that Jeanne Ellinport has been selected to serve as Executive Director effective September 1, 2019. The Transition Committee worked diligently over the past 3 months to consider a talented pool of candidates, and the Board of Directors unanimously approved Ellinport as AMTA’s new Executive Director.

“Jeanne’s broad experience and expertise are an excellent match for AMTA’s current and future needs,” remarked President Amber Weldon-Stephens. “We are delighted to welcome her to the team!” President-Elect Deborah Williams said, “We are excited that Jeanne is the next Executive Director of the AMTA.   Her vision and vitality seem perfect for our organization's desire to change and move forward.”

Ellinport’s 25 years of proven leadership in the Washington D.C. area with regional, national, and global organizations includes outreach, strategic planning, communications, development, public affairs, operations, media relations, and social media in government, corporate and nonprofit sectors. 

Working with mission-focused clients in her consulting firm, Ellinport also directed communications and government relations with the American Red Cross as part of the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Program and led communications for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of the National Capital Area. Responsible for Jewish Outreach, she served as Special Assistant to President Clinton in the Office of Public Liaison. Throughout her career she has placed stories in the top national newspapers, including the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, trade publications, on the radio and in blogs.

Prior to joining AMTA, Jeanne launched a multi-year, multi-million-dollar global education campaign for the Prevent Cancer Foundation; increased overall revenue while at the Navy League of the United States; and helped with strategic planning and senior-level management at the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.

Upon her selection, Jeanne commented, “I am excited to lead AMTA as we begin our third decade. The foundation laid over the years by the staff, board members, members and volunteers is truly solid. Now we have the opportunity to work with our members, strategic partners and industry representatives to build, expand and advance the profession. It’s critical that we increase the visibility of and access to the profession to help more people benefit from music therapy."

About AMTA

Representing over 8,000 board certified music therapists and nearly 1,700 music therapy students, along with corporate members and related associations worldwide, AMTA is committed to the advancement of education, training, professional standards, and research in support of the music therapy profession.

AMTA conducts a wide variety of programs and provides extensive resources to fulfill its mission to advance public awareness of the benefits of music therapy and increase access to quality music therapy services in a rapidly changing world. For more information, visit: https://www.musictherapy.org/.

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Contact: Amber Weldon-Stephens, President, American Music Therapy Association, Inc. StephensA@fultonschools.org

JEANNE ELLINPORT

Jeanne is an external affairs strategist, including communications, government relations and development for all three sectors government, corporate and nonprofit. Based in Washington D.C., she has her finger on the pulse of policymakers and influencers as well as the national print and broadcast media and is skilled at leveraging her contacts to meet complex objectives.

Jeanne has spent 25 years in the Washington D.C. area handling external affairs—including outreach, strategic planning, communications, public affairs, operations, media relations, and social media —for all three sectors: government, corporate and nonprofit.  Prior to starting her consulting firm, Jeanne worked on mission-focused clients, including New Profit, Inc. for SolomonMcCown, a Boston based public relations firm. She was also fortunate to spend a number of years with the American Red Cross Hurricane Recovery Program, where she was responsible for communications and government relations surrounding the $500 million program for the survivors of the 2005 hurricanes. Prior to the Red Cross, Jeanne worked in both the corporate and nonprofit communities with Vericom Technologies, MCI WorldCom, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in their Health Coverage Programming Unit, and Independent Sector. During her employment with the U.S. Soccer Foundation she began a program with the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency to turn old government property into soccer fields.  She has also served as the Communications Director of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of the National Capital Area, where she led all internal and external communications for both the federal and commercial plans, including the merger between the National Capital Area and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maryland. Throughout her career she has placed stories in the top national newspapers, including the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, trade publications, on the radio and in blogs.

Jeanne previously served as a Special Assistant to President Clinton in the Office of Public Liaison, where she was responsible for Jewish Outreach. Serving as the principal liaison between the Jewish Community and the White House and all other government agencies, she worked with the eclectic group of Jewish religious and lay leaders to elicit input from the public regarding Administration policies, programs, and issues, and communicate those views to the President and his advisors. In addition to her work in the government sector, Jeanne has also helped many Fortune 500 corporations with crisis communications and public relations work.

Prior to joining AMTA, Jeanne launched a multi-year, multi-million dollar global education campaign for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, executed the largest North American Trade Show and Conference for the Sea Services and increased overall revenue while at the Navy League of the United States, and helped with strategic planning and senior-level management at the Lutheran Immigration Refugee Service.

She received her B.A in Political Communications and M.B.A. from George Washington University.

Ellinport lives in Gaithersburg, MD with her husband and three children.

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