Greetings from your editors | |
Mark Ahola, MM, LCAT, MT-BC | |  |
Mel Srolovitz, MM, MT-BC | | |
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Here is the summer edition of your MAR-AMTA newsletter, Tuning In to Rx Music. In this edition, you will find reports/introductions from newly elected and appointed officers of the MAR-AMTA Executive Board.
Note from Mark - For the past 10 years, I have fully enjoyed my time serving the MAR and many executive boards as editor. As I step down from that role, I thank Mel for all of her recent help putting out the quarterly newsletter and email announcements.
So now, enjoy your summer read and...thanks for Tuning In to Rx Music!
As always, feel free to give newsletter feedback by emailing:
editor@maramta.org
assistanteditor@maramta.org
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Reports
President
President-Elect
Immediate Past President
Vice President for Membership
Public Relations Chair
Government Relations Chair
Vice President for Conference Planning
MAR Assembly Chair
Treasurer
Student Affairs
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President's Report
Robert Miller, MS, MT-BC
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Dear members of the Mid-Atlantic Region,
It is with great honor that I submit my first newsletter report in the role of President. Our executive board shifted July 1, 2021. As I move into this role, I can not express enough thanks for the guidance and support I have received from our Immediate Past President, Beth Deyermond, and the entire former and current executive boards. I am excited to serve the MAR in this capacity.
I would like to officially introduce the following members of the MAR 2021-2023 Executive Board!
Audrey Hausig - President-Elect
Beth Deyermond - Immediate Past-President
Clarissa Lacson - Vice President for Membership
Timothy Doak - Vice President for Conference Planning
Ian Veer - Vice President-Elect for Conference Planning
Amanda Montera - Treasurer
Nina Alden - Treasurer-Elect
Stephenie Sofield - Government Relations Chair
Tatyana Martin - Government Relations Elect
Cheyenna Eagle - Public Relations Chair
Meghan Smith - Student Affairs Advisor
There will be more introductions to make once we complete the process of presidential appointments for the remaining board positions.
PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS
One of the items on a new president’s to-do list is to fill appointed positions on the executive board and to identify regional representatives to national standing committees within the AMTA. The following appointments were approved by our executive board:
Sarah Biedka - Clinical Practice Networking Committee
Susan Glaspell - Association Internship Approval Committee
Mary Holliday - Continuing Education Coordinator
Laurie Keough - Interprofessional Collaborative Resource Committee
Kathy Murphy - Research Committee (Interim)
Tracy Souhrada - Technology Committee
Arlene Manso Witt - International Relations Committee
My gratitude goes out to these members who are willing to represent the Mid-Atlantic Region through these positions. We have more appointments to come, and they will be shared with membership once they are approved.
As of the time I am writing this report, we are still looking for individuals to fill the appointed executive board positions of Newsletter Editor and Historian. Please note that you must be a member of AMTA to serve in these roles. If you are interested, please reach out to me at president@maramta.org.
GOALS OF THE MAR-AMTA 2021-2023
Another early task as president is to identify goals for the executive board and the region for the new term. The executive board discussed and approved the following nine goals:
1. To promote awareness and understanding of music therapy to the general public including advocacy efforts and recognition at state and national levels.
2. To clarify and strengthen the relationship between the Mid-Atlantic Region, the American Music Therapy Association, and affiliated state organizations.
3. To promote the understanding of the organizational structures of the American Music Therapy Association, and the Mid-Atlantic Region.
4. To increase advocacy and promotion of diversity within organization structures, including the dismantling and replacement of structures that are oppressive.
5. To increase support regarding issues of social justice including disability rights as they impact members of our Region and the people we serve.
6. To promote member benefits and use of resources and to increase membership in the organization.
7. To increase transparency with the membership through effective and open communication.
8. To be fiscally responsible as a Region, and to be sensitive to the financial needs of the membership.
9. To continue to support, promote and highlight music therapy research.
These goals can serve as guideposts as we continue to learn from our membership and make positive changes in support of members and non-members of the MAR, always keeping the needs of our clients in the forefront of everything we do.
That’s it for now. There will be lots more to come! Please feel free to contact me at any time with questions or concerns, to share what is going well and where there is room for improvement. We have an amazing board and passionate members, and I look forward to working together to see what the next two years will bring!
Bob Miller, MS, MT-BC
President, Mid-Atlantic Region
president@maramta.org
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President-Elect's Report
Audrey Hausig, MMT, MT-BC
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Greetings MAR,
I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to serve as your president elect. I’m looking forward to listening to and learning from music therapists and students in the region. I can be reached at presidentelect@maramta.org and welcome your comments, ideas, feedback, and questions. One of my first tasks is to finish assembling the Constitution and Bylaws Committee, by recruiting 2 professional members to join us in reviewing and editing our documents. Please reach out if you’re interested.
Gratefully, Audrey
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Immediate Past President's Report
Beth Deyermond, MA, MT-BC
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Dear members and friends of the MAR-AMTA,
It is with great pleasure that I now write to you in my new role as Immediate Past President of the MAR-AMTA. We lived through a lot over the past two years and I thank you all for the continued questions, guidance and support. I am confident that the Board and the Region are in good hands as we continue to grow as an Association.
One of the roles of Immediate Past President is to chair the Regional Nominating Committee and present a slate of candidates for our biennial elections. You may have heard that in an effort to bring the Region towards more equitable ground, there were some significant changes made to our last election this past spring (some being: an anonymized election slate and change to electronic voting). In addition, to reflect those changes, there were a number of proposed changes made to the Region’s Constitution and Bylaws. A number of meetings were held where questions and concerns regarding these changes were posed and discussed. The ballots were emailed and all of the proposed changes passed.
A number of members have requested the breakdown of the voting numbers. The ballot for the Constitution and Bylaws was sent to the 538 MAR-AMTA members who were current at the time of voting. Out of those 538 ballots, 251 were opened, but only 58 members actually voted. Thank you to those who took the time to vote. Please use the following link for a breakdown of the results:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mbKV5zZl6L2PdEJ3HEBNZimQiJHqe6m8/view?usp=sharing
Needless to say, we were disappointed in the total number of members who voted and hope to drastically increase that number in future voting opportunities. Changing methods and procedures can be difficult to do at first, but we have faith as a Board that electronic voting will not only allow all members and not just those attending the Regional conference to be involved in the process, but will quickly become normalized as a part of our Regional culture.
I am aware that there still remains a number of concerns about the change that have been put into effect and questions surrounding procedures for future voting opportunities. I have already reached out to the individuals who served on the Nominating Committee and we will be discussing how best to move forward in order to answer the questions and have the membership feel as comfortable as possible with the procedures that have been and will be put into place. Please be on the lookout for information around this subject that will be coming out in the near future.
I appreciate the time and efforts that everyone has provided in this area of our Regional governance and I look forward to speaking with you and working with you all as we progress in these efforts. As always, feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns at pastpresident@maramta.org
In service,
Beth Deyermond, MA, MT-BC
Immediate Past President
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Vice President for Membership Report
Clarissa Lacson, MA, MT-BC
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I hope this newsletter finds you well and enjoying the summer in whatever capacity you prefer! Thanks to all who responded to the Member Survey about Connection Opportunities last quarter. Many expressed an interest in meeting to discuss anti-oppressive practices, COVID best practices, state task force updates, and working in specific settings. I am working to organize a series of discussions that will cover topics of interest to the membership. Please be on the lookout for calls for facilitators on specific topics, as well as announcements for when these discussions will occur!
We are also planning to hold another Town Hall meeting within the next three months. Town Hall meetings are open to anyone who is interested in expressing feedback, suggestions, and concerns regarding music therapy in the Mid-Atlantic Region. While we may not be able to offer solutions for every concern, we will do our best to listen and understand everyone’s perspective so that we can move forward better informed about the needs of our community.
Please contact me with any questions, feedback, suggestions or concerns: vpmembership@maramta.org
In service,
Clarissa
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Public Relations Chair Report
Cheyenna Eagle, MT-BC
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Greetings from Public Relations!
I am Chey Eagle (she/her), and I am so excited to serve as the Public Relations Chair for MAR this term! I truly believe that open communication and transparency is key for the success of any organization and I plan to bring that belief to this position as much as possible. Our region always has something great going on, and luckily, we have lots of ways for you to always stay informed! If you haven’t already, I urge you to join our Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter (@MARAMTA) and Instagram (@MARMusicTherapy).We will be posting on all social media frequently with any updates or upcoming events. We also plan on keeping our website (www.mar-amta.org) updated frequently, so you will always know what is going on in the community. There is so much on our website to explore and learn about our region. While you are there, you can read about our new executive board and get to know us a little better!
I am so thrilled to be serving the Mid-Atlantic Region as the Public Relations Chair for this term. Feel free to reach out to me via email if you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns about our social media or website! I can always be reached at publicrelations@maramta.org.
Looking forward to a great term!
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Government Relations Chair Report
Stephenie Sofield, MM, MT-BC (she/her/hers)
Government Relations Elect Chair
Tatyana Martin, MT-BC
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Hi all! I’m excited to continue the hard work of the MAR EB. I currently work full time at a social justice agency in Pleasantville, NJ, where I support child witnesses of intimate partner violence. Additionally, I am a PhD student in the Creative Arts Therapy program at Drexel University. I spent the last two years learning as the Government Relations Chair-Elect under the guidance of CJ Shiloh. During those two years, I had the pleasure of witnessing New Jersey, Virginia, AND Maryland achieve music therapy licensure! Over the next two years, I hope to continue supporting these states as they work towards writing license regulations and beginning the licensure process, as well as supporting Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York with their state advocacy work. I plan to encourage increased communication between state task forces and will restructure the MAR Government Relations committee so that each state task force may be represented. Additionally, I plan to work with Tatyana, the new GR Chair-Elect, on creating better documentation regarding region regional advocacy efforts, including historical documents for each state task force. My hope is to increase the much-needed support and transparency for the state task forces so that they may continue the hard work that they’re doing. If you’re interested in serving your state, please don’t hesitate to contact me at governmentrelations@maramta.org.
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I am Tatyana Martin (she/her/hers) and thrilled to have the opportunity to learn the advocacy process of each state in MAR and share knowledge from my advocacy experiences. It has been a joy to serve as Co-Chair on the Maryland State Task Force, as well as an honor to continue the work with all the MAR state task forces, music therapist, and advocates. I come to this position currently working in forensic psychiatry, while completing graduate work at Slippery Rock University. I look forward to serving on the Mid-Atlantic Region executive board. Please feel free to contact me via email governmentrelationselect@maramta.org.
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Vice President for Conference Planning
Timothy Doak, MS, LCAT, MT-BC
Vice-President Elect for Conference Planning
Ian Vereen, MT-BC, NMT
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Image above: Rectangular box with blue-shaded colors, with the text: 2022 MAR-AMTA Annual Conference Call for Papers is OPEN! April 7th-9th, 2022- Harrisburg, PA
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Hello MAR-AMTA!
I am so excited to be your Vice-President for Conference Planning! We have already begun the planning process for our in person conference in Harrisburg, PA. I’m sure you can share in my excitement to gather once again and be amongst our growing music therapy community. The local committee is beginning to form and establish their agendas to ensure this conference is an exciting, educational, and stimulating experience!
The conference will be held IN PERSON April 7-9th, 2022 in Harrisburg, PA at the Hilton Harrisburg. We are aware the COVID-19 pandemic is ever changing and the planning committee is dedicated to the safety and well-being of all of you, your loved ones, and the individuals who receive your services. We will continue to follow CDC guidelines and recommendations.
I’d like to introduce the local committee! Thank you all so much for your dedication and continued hard work to make our conference superb!
LOCAL HOSTS
Gene Ann Behrens
Meng-Shan Lee
ENTERTAINMENT
Lauren Rowe
Ashley Howson
REGISTRATION
Marissa Aulenbach
Terence Xu
EXHIBITS COORDINATORS
Melissa Ward
Bethany Wentling
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Emily Boyce
PUBLICITY
Stephanie Strauss
Andrea Giraldo
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Beth Ghiorzi
INSTRUMENT COORDINATORS
Cassy Schoffstalls
Melanie Walborn
The “Call for Papers” is also NOW OPEN for the 2022 MAR-AMTA Conference! We will only be accepting online submissions. Please refer to the E-Blast which went out on July 15, 2021 at 6pm for more information or utilize this link (2022 Call for Papers Announcement) or this direct link (https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:b3a63c1f-3a80-4502-9d56-f4154ef3e541).
Some highlights from the 2022 Call for Papers Announcement:
- The MAR-AMTA seeks to acknowledge and repair the oppressive structures placed upon our historically marginalized music therapy colleagues and students. With this in mind, we are providing compensation in the form of free conference registration for historically marginalized music therapy members who are accepted to present their proposal. We recognize the emotional labor required in both constructing and presenting these sessions. To receive this free conference registration:
- Individuals must be from a historically marginalized community (e.g. Asian, Black, Disabled, Indigenous, Latinx, LGBTQIA2+, North African, South-West Asian).
- MAR-AMTA recognizes Affinity Groups as those who represent historically marginalized and oppressed community members.
- Individuals must submit their presentation within the “Call for Papers” call period.
- Presentations must undergo the anonymous review process and receive a passing score.
- In the “Call for Papers,” individuals must select “yes” in the corresponding section for this compensation.
- The Vice-President for Conference Planning will have sole access to this identifying information and will not question or police individuals identity.
- PROPOSAL DEADLINES:
- SEPTEMBER 17, 2021: $35.00 registration discount
- SEPTEMBER 24, 2021: $25.00 registration discount
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OCTOBER 15, 2021: Final submission deadline. (No registration discount)
- (Discounts are for concurrent sessions only. Both CMTE’s and Pre-Conference Institutes receive a stipend)
If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please follow THIS LINK to submit your proposal. We are looking forward to some excellent submissions!
Here is a direct link to the “Call for Papers” submission: https://forms.gle/mbhEro8u7pif9MPx8
There are lots of exciting things in the works, so we hope to see you April 7-9th, 2022 in Harrisburg, PA!!
If you have any questions please contact Timothy Doak at vpconferenceplanning@maramta.org
In Service,
Timothy Doak, MS, LCAT, MT-BC
Vice-President for Conference Planning
Ian Vereen, MT-BC, NMT
Vice-President Elect for Conference Planning
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2021-2023 MAR Assembly Chair Report
Donna W. Polen, LCAT, MT-BC
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Updates from recent Assembly of Delegates Meeting
The Assembly met on May 24, 2021. The main items of business addressed included:
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Integrative Policies and Procedures Assembly (IPPA) Work Group: Final report and recommendations were presented; the recommendations now go to the AMTA BOD.
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Accessibility Work Group: An update on the Accessibility Work Group was presented. This group is still in the process of formalizing its membership, tasks, and procedures.
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Council Coordinators: An overview of the duties of the Council Coordinators was presented, with one update report provided by Natalie Generally Kirk, Coordinator for the Council on Education and Clinical Training.
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Assembly Bylaws Task Force (ABTF): The ABTF presented an update report and outlined its remaining tasks, including finalizing proposed Bylaws revisions and drafting an addendum of terms and definitions. Three main initiatives (Harassment, Sexual Harassment, and Assault; Accessibility; and University-Affiliated Internship Guidelines) were addressed at Assembly meetings at the 2020 AMTA Online Conference and at follow-up meetings on 11/30/2020 and 2/22/2021. Highlights of this work were also presented at the Assembly concurrent session at the recent MAR conference.
2022-2023 MAR Assembly-Elect
Listed below are the results of the recent election. Remember, you can always contact any member of the Delegation with your questions, concerns, and ideas: https://mar-amta.org/about/committees/assembly-of-delegates/
2022-2023 MAR Assembly-Elect
DELEGATES, in alphabetical order
Brian Abrams
Danielle Barbera
Beth Deyermond
Lynn Gumert
Audrey Hausig
Scott Horowitz
Andi Hunt
Clarissa Lacson
Conio Loretto
Bob Miller
Kate Myers-Coffman
Kristen O’Grady
Donna Polen
Noah Potvin
ALTERNATES, in order of being called
Lauren Stoner
Melinda Korte
Nicole Hahna
Shawna Vernisie
Ian Vereen
Kendall Joplin
Kim Drabik
Bailey Hunter
Cheyenne Eagle
Cassie Byers
Melanie Walborn
Mary Claire Holiday
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Treasurer Report
Amanda Montera, MMT, MT-BC
Treasurer Elect Report
Nina Alden, MA, MT-BC
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Hello! I am so excited to be taking over as treasurer of the MAR. My name is Amanda, I’m a graduate of Temple University (undergrad and graduate), and I work and live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As treasurer my goal is to keep the region fiscally responsible, while also expanding our ability to provide support to our members. A couple of the tasks I will be completing over the next few months will be to start creating a budget for 2022, and to thin out our records from the last several years. I’m very much looking forward to serving the region as your treasurer!
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Nina Alden is the new treasurer elect and is excited to be a part of the MARAMTA executive board. Her goals for this position include supporting the mission and needs of the association and its’ members in fiscally responsible ways, while also being transparent and thoughtful. Growing up in Seattle, Nina moved to New York 4 years ago to get her Master's Degree in Music Therapy at NYU. She is happy to now call the east coast her home and enjoys being involved with the AMTA community. Nina works as a music therapist at Woodhull Hospital in Adult Inpatient Psychiatry as part of NYC Health + Hospitals.
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Student Affairs
Advisor Report
Meghan Smith, MT-BC
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Hello, MAR-AMTA! I’d like to first extend congratulations to the 2021-2022 MAR-AMTS executive board, listed below. We are currently preparing for our Summer Business Meeting, scheduled to take place at the end of July.
President: Lauren Armstrong, Nazareth College
President Elect: Dana Shafranek, Montclair State University
Vice President: Ashley Stewart, Temple University
Secretary: Shannon O’Rawe, Nazareth College
Treasurer: Rocco Roguskie, Marywood University
Government Relations: Emily Vanicek, Marywood University
Parliamentarian: Lindsey Puc, Nazareth College
Public Relations: Kirthana Kannan, Temple University
Historian: Nina DeMilta, Nazareth College
Mark your calendars!! Passages 2021 is scheduled for September 25th at Elizabethtown College! Thank you to Fiona Riso, MT-BC, and Victoria King, graduate student at Montclair State University for volunteering to serve the region by co-chairing this year’s conference. Thank you to Dr. Gene-Ann Behrens for her continued support and effort in hosting the Passages conference. We are excited to be able to host an in-person conference at Elizabethtown.
The call for presentations and registration forms will be sent out shortly- be on the lookout for a Google Form sent via email and posted on social media.
Please feel free to reach out with any inquiries, comments, or concerns.
In service,
Meghan Smith, MT-BC (she/her/hers)
Student Affairs Advisor
StudentAffairs@maramta.org
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We hope that reading the latest news and reports from within the MAR region benefited you. The submissions deadline for the fall edition is October 15. | | | | |
