Here is the winter edition of your MAR-AMTA newsletter, Tuning In to Rx Music. In this edition, you will find reports from appointed officers of the MAR-AMTA Executive Board as well as registration info for our in person conference in April!

So now, enjoy your winter 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

Sponsor Ads

(click on ads for direct links)



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

The Molloy College Graduate Music Therapy Program Sampler 

Mondays, January 31, February 7, 14, 28 at 4:30-5:30pm (ZOOM) 

This 4-week online course will provide an introduction and sampling of all that the Molloy College graduate program has to offer. Each week will be led by a different guest music therapy faculty member. Students will be provided with links to session observations and literature resources that support the topics covered. 

Week 1: An Overview of the field of Music Therapy, Music Psychotherapy, and Music-Centered practice--and sharing of clinical excerpts. (Professor Elizabeth Schwartz)

Week 2: Welcome to The Rebecca Center for Music Therapy: This week includes links to session excerpts, research, and the workings of our on-campus, internationally renowned clinic.  (Dr. John Carpente)

Week 3: Culturally Responsive Music Therapy: An introduction to working with diverse cultures in music psychotherapy, with discussions about current issues related to anti-oppressive clinical work, diversity, inclusion, and equity.  (Dr. Kate Myers-Coffman)

Week 4: Clinical Improvisation: A (Fun) Primer: An introduction to the basic tenets of creating music with and for clients.  We reconnect with the basic elements and building blocks of music to explore how style, idiom, scale, rhythm are used to meet and reach our clients. (Dr. Suzanne Sorel)

Only $50 for prospective students interested in learning more about Music Therapy and the Molloy Graduate Program. 

To enroll in the course please click on this link

You can register on-line 24/7. You will need a MasterCard, Discover or Visa charge card and an email address. Phone-in registration is available by calling the Office of Continuing Education at 516.323.3550 with your MasterCard, Discover or Visa. Course number: 22S-MT1200-01V. Office hours: Mondays and Thursdays: 8:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.; Tuesdays and Wednesdays: 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Fridays: 9:00 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Saturdays: 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

ANNOUNCEMENT

We are accepting nominations for individuals for the 2022 MAR Advocacy Award. This award is given annually to a non-music therapist who has exhibited exemplary effort in advocating for the advancement of Music Therapy through program development, advocacy at a local, state, or regional level, financial support, or other means. If you would like to nominate someone for this award, please fill out the following form: https://forms.gle/2QjiHH8xfcRz7dn19 or e-mail President Miller at president@maramta.org. Nominations are due by Feb 6, 2022.

The Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Music Therapy Association (MAR-AMTA) will be raffling one free full conference (in person or online) registration to our 2023 conference. 

This annual raffle will benefit the Licensure Support Grant, which assists individuals who have financial needs related to licensure within the MAR-AMTA. 

The raffle will open on February 1, 2022 and we will choose a winner at the Opening Ceremonies in Harrisburg, PA on April 7th. Winners DO NOT need to be present to win the raffle. You do not need to be an AMTA member to participate. 

The cost to enter the raffle is $25 per ticket. 

To enter the raffle, please contribute $25 to MAR-AMTA at the following handles and write, “raffle” and your name and email address in the comment: 

Zelle e-mail: treasurer@maramta.org

PayPal handle: treasurer@maramta.org

The MAR-AMTA Clinician-Led Panel Discussion on Music Therapy with Older Adults was held on October 28, 2021. A link to the recording can be found at the MAR-AMTA website: https://mar-amta.org/2021/10/29/mar-amta-clinician-led-panel-discussion-on-mt-with-older-adults/

Thank you to all who attended and participated in the December 14th Town Hall meeting, focused on the results from the Anti-Oppressive Accountability Ad-Hoc report. One item that was discussed was a potential need for an allies group within MAR-AMTA. If you are interested in being a part of an allies group, please email vpmembership@maramta.org.

It is scholarship season! The Membership Support Award and the Minority Student Scholarship Award have been awarded. It’s not too late to apply for the Janet C. Murphy Memorial Conference Award for the MAR-AMTA Regional Conference! The recipient of this award will receive free conference registration, free CMTE’s and Institutes, and $250 to offset conference expenses. Please apply at: https://forms.gle/xdJQe466pLFgFWfr6

Many music therapists have indicated an interest in learning more about state-specific licensure and music therapy recognition updates. I encourage you to read the Government Relations Chair report in this newsletter, and to get in touch with your state task force to discuss further questions. If you need contact information for your state task force, please email the Government Relations Chair (Stephenie Sofield) at governmentrelations@maramta.org, or the Government Relations Elect Chair (Tatyana Martin) at governmentrelationselect@maramta.org.

The MAR-AMTA Membership Committee is seeking persons to serve as anonymous reviewers for scholarship applications! The time commitment is typically less than one hour for each set of scholarship applications reviewed. Please fill out this Google form to indicate your interest:

https://forms.gle/F5LiqfA3obsN8BxSA

Thank you for your willingness to serve!

Public Relations Chair Report

Cheyenna Eagle, MT-BC

Greetings and Happy New Year, MAR-AMTA! 

Public relations has been hard at work making sure all of our social media pages are up-to-date and doing some behind the scenes work in preparation for the many updates to come in our new year! If you are not already, I invite you to join our Facebook Group or like our page and follow us on Twitter (@MARAMTA) and Instagram (@MARMusicTherapy) to make sure you always know what’s going on in our region!

Our regional conference is coming up on April 7th-9th! Frequent updates to our social media pages and website are going to be made to make sure all of our information about the conference is readily available to everyone and always accurate. Conference registration is now open and you can find all of the most recent information on our website: https://mar-amta.org/conference/. Here you can find all of our registration costs, conference schedule, and COVID precautions. We hope to see you in April!

In other news, this year we are bringing back our MAR Membership Spotlights! There are so many wonderful music therapists in the Mid-Atlantic Region and we want to thank you all for the hard work and dedication you have for our profession. These features will be made as posts on our social media pages and website at the beginning of each new month. Right now, Clarissa (VP of Membership) and I are planning for one feature per month, and we will be adjusting the process as needed. If you know anyone in the region that would you like to submit for our MAR Membership Spotlight, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/nXEZQHuTsvDgaEE69. If at any time you have questions or comments about the Spotlight, feel free to contact me at publicrelations@maramta.org. We look forward to hearing about the amazing things everyone is doing in our region!

For a while now, it has been well known that our website ( www.mar-amta.org ) has been in need of some refreshing. I have been working closely with our new Webmaster, Joseph Madejski, to begin the ongoing process of revamping our website. I wanted to include some updates from our webmaster himself:

Hello, MAR-AMTA! Our goal is to make the MAR website a complete up-to-date information hub for the region. To do this we are improving our response time to job postings, news postings, and event submissions to get information out as quickly as possible and we have added the option to submit your own news and events. On a larger scale, we are working on reformatting the website layout to make it more user friendly and accessible. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the website, I can be reached at Webmaster@maramta.org. I look forward to interacting with the MAR Community. 

Best,

Joe

We have made a lot of progress with our website so far, but we still have a long way to go. I encourage you to check out the updates that have been made so far and to let us know your thoughts! Our goal is to make the website the most beneficial, and functional, it can be for our community, so if there are changes and improvements you would like to see, or if you ever run into any issues, please do not hesitate to contact the webmaster or myself.

That is all for now from Public Relations! A quick reminder that if there is ever anything that we as a board can do to better support you, please let us know. I wish everyone a happier new year as we navigate through 2022! Thank you!

Cheyenna Eagle, MT-BC, NMT

Chey- (She/her/hers) 

MAR-AMTA Public Relations Chair 

Website: MAR-AMTA.org

Twitter: @MARAMTA

Instagram: MARMusicTherapy

Facebook: Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Music Therapy association

     The MAR GR team would like to thank everyone who assisted MD MTs apply for licensure throughout the months of December and January. The Board of Examiners of Audiologists, Hearing Aid Dispensers, Speech Language Pathologists, and Music Therapists required those who provide MT within the state of MD to apply for their license by January 31, 2022, despite recommendations from the MDSTF, as well as the MAR and the AMTA GR teams and our legislative sponsors. In conjunction with the MAR Treasurers, the MDSTF set up the Maryland MT Licensure Assistance Grant to support MD MTs who experienced financial strain related to this unprecedented deadline. We are excited to share that every MT who applied for assistance received it!! Thanks to the Maryland Association for Music Therapy and the MDSTF for donating funds to this grant, as well as to the individual MTs who donated as well. The MAR GR team is currently working to continue this grant for assistance for licensure costs across the region. Stay tuned for events related to this new grant!

       We are excited to share that MDSTF’s advocacy efforts prevailed, and on January 20, the deadline for the license application was extended to April 20, 2022!!

       The MAR GR team has also received several emails from individuals that noticed the short deadline for MD, and have expressed concern about the deadlines for VA and NJ. We would like to assure you that there is currently no application process in place for either state. Both states have music therapy subcommittees that are reviewing and working diligently on regulation language. For both states, we don’t expect regulations to be ready for another 8-12+ months. If anything occurs that is similar to the events in MD, the MAR and National GR teams will support those affected as quickly as possible.

DESTF (Chair - Gina Greeson) 

●    No current activities.

●    If you are interested in co-chairing the DESTF with Gina, please reach out to Stephenie or Tatyana at: governmentrelations@maramta.org or governmentrelationselect@maramta.org

WVSTF (Chair- Nancy Marmorella) 

●    The MAR and National GR teams are excited to welcome Nancy into the WVSTF Chair position!

●    If you are interested in serving on the WVSTF, please contact Stephenie or Tatyana

MDSTF (Co-Chairs - Elizabeth Smith, Tatyana Martin) 

●    Music Therapists in Maryland were initially given a grace period of a little over a month from the Board of Examiners of Audiologists, Hearing Aid Dispensers, Speech Language Pathologists, and Music Therapists to apply for the Maryland music therapy license.

●    MDSTF hosted a Town Hall Meeting for MD MTs, provided additional resources, and worked with the MAR Treasurers to create the “Maryland MT Licensure Assistance Grant,'' as the turnaround for the deadline was unprecedented and caused a stressful situation for those who needed to apply for the license by January 31, 2022.

●    After several requests from the MDSTF, on January 20, 2022 the board voted to extend the license application deadline to April 20, 2022!!! The MAR would like to express a huge amount of gratitude to the MDSTF, who worked tirelessly to advocate for the MTs affected by the quick turnaround.

●     All licensed Maryland music therapists will hold the credential LPMT (Licensed Professional Music Therapist).

●    If you have questions regarding the application process please contact the MDSTF at mdstate.task.force@gmail.com. We are more than happy to help you through this process.

●    Please welcome a new student member Sarah Monror to the MDSTF! 

Helpful Resources for Application Process:

- Board of Examiners for AUD/HAD/SLP/MT Website: https://health.maryland.gov/boardsahs/Pages/Index.aspx

- MDSTF Email Communication: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FnFlrtJvLTo5IYuxScNQiVPBdL3mdgfa/view?usp=sharing 

- License Check List: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XKHlifRAd4PbnQWGR27Td3g69_vG_qg3/view?usp=sharing

- CJIS Fingerprinting Locations: https://www.dpscs.state.md.us/publicservs/fingerprint.shtml 

*Both State AND FBI Fingerprints are required for licensure.

NJSTF (Chair - Paula Unsal) 

●    The Board of Creative Arts and Activities Therapies met on Jan 28, 2022. The music therapy sub-committee has a template in place for licensure regulation language.

●    NJSTF has announced their “What is Music Therapy Social Media Campaign” social media campaign, which is meant to educate the general public about music therapy. Anyone can participate in this campaign!

○    The NJSTF is in need of volunteers to serve on the review panel for social media posts. If you are interested, please contact the NJSTF at: newjerseystatetaskforce@gmail.com

●    Next steps are being considered for Gender Neutral Language within legislation across the state.

NYSTF (Chair - Donna Polen) 

●    NYSTF continues to carefully monitor the NY MT licensure bill language, as well as the workings of board associated with MT work in the state of NY.

●    If you would like to serve on the NYSTF as a student representative, please contact the NYSTF (nystate.task.force@gmail.com)

●    Stay tuned for possible advocacy events in 2022!

PASTF (Co-Chairs - Michelle Muth and Nicole Hahna) 

●    PASTF is excited to welcome several new task force members: Kristine Becker, Chris Morrison, & Bethany Wentling.

●    PASTF has several important meetings, events, and dates quickly approaching:

○    April 3, 6 - 8 pm (Sun) Virtual Training (Student & Professional)

○    April 6--MAR Hill Day CMTE in Harrisburg (Wed)

○    April 7--Student Leadership Academy Hill Day, April 7, 9 am - 12 pm (Thur)

●    Due to rising concerns surrounding the omicron variant, the PASTF has regretfully decided to cancel this year’s advocacy breakfast.

●    If you are interested in registering for PASTF’s CMTE, please visit this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKskCqVwaAS9jRDP05qLTjrjEJcvFDWR1XUBMQZCUEY4OfnA/viewform?usp=sf_link

●    PASTF continues to work on the sunrise review for PA’s licensure bill, as well as in collaboration with HAP to ensure that Phase II of the HAP grant proceeds as planned.

VASTF (Co-Chairs - Tracy Bowdish and Shelby Shrader) 

●    VASTF continues to work on writing the regulations for the license.

●    VA MT’s, stay tuned for a survey which will gather info about what is happening across the state as well as funding sources.

Image above: Rectangular box with white background and city skyline, with the text: Registration is Open! MAR-AMTA Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Music Therapy Association #maramta2022. 2022 Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Music Therapy Association. Music Therapy Conference April 7th-9th

Hello MAR-AMTA! 

We are so excited to announce registration is officially OPEN for our 2022 IN PERSON MAR-AMTA Annual Conference! This is our first in-person conference in two years and we are looking forward to welcoming you all to the Hilton Harrisburg, PA Hotel! The following are the registration deadlines and prices:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Student Registration

Registration will CLOSE on March 28th, 2022 at 12:00am. Here is the link to our registration portal which has all information regarding the various registration options and the conference: MAR-AMTA 2022 Conference Registration

To see our current offerings of concurrent sessions, please follow this link: Concurrent Sessions 

To see our continued education offerings, please follow this link: Continuing Education Sessions

Our Keynote speaker will be Jim Snack who is an acclaimed, award-winning, rave-review-generating speaker. Jim's presentations are always a captivating blend of motivation, magic, and message. Please see his his bio at this link: Jim Snack Bio 

If you have renewed your membership with AMTA in 2022, you will be receiving an email from vpconferenceplanning@maramta.org with a “Member Code”. These emails will be going out weekly when updated membership lists are generated. You will need this code to receive the AMTA member rate. 

To name the concerns so many individuals have voiced, we understand that COVID-19 is still present and the Omicron variant is currently surging. The conference planning committee is hopeful case numbers will decrease in the spring following what we understand about surge trends. Due to this concern, we will be taking several precautions to ensure the health of our clients, families, colleagues, and members. We have also added a new benefit and registration option for attendees. 

Following the success of our online conferences, and to create more accessibility, MAR-AMTA Conferences will now be recorded and placed online. This will allow individuals to see ALL concurrent sessions, rather than just sessions they attend! ALL individuals who register for a FULL conference (Non-member, Member, Student) will have access to the recordings for 30 days post conference. CMTE’s will NOT be recorded and must be attended live. We have also introduced for the first time an “Online Only” registration option. This will be for individuals who do not wish to attend the conference in person, but still wish to receive the CMTE credits for attending a conference. A link and password will be sent at a later date. 

As mentioned, we will be taking the following precautions to help reduce the risk of COVID-19. These precautions may change as recommendations from the CDC issue new suggestions;

1. We will be requiring a full COVID-19 vaccination and booster at least 2 weeks prior to the conference. Vaccination cards are required to be uploaded within the registration form. If you are not vaccinated or have not yet received your booster, you must submit proof of a negative PCR COVID test no earlier than 72 hours from the first day of conference. These individuals will upload a file/picture/pdf indicating they are taking this option.
2. Masks will be required for all attendees and it will be enforced. An N95, KN95 and KF94 are the current recommendations by the CDC.
3. Temperature checks and social distancing will be strongly encouraged throughout.
4. Implementation of a 3-tiered system of social contact consisting of hugs/handshakes (green), elbow taps (yellow), or no contact (red) which will be visible on registrants name tags.
5. A morning symptom checklist completed prior to attending your first sessions.
6. An increased number of hand sanitizing stations and cleaning supplies available.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to Timothy Doak (vpconferenceplanning@maramta.org) and Ian Vereen (vpconferenceplanningelect@maramta.org). We look forward to welcoming you to the conference this year! 

In Service, 

Timothy Doak, MS, LCAT, MT-BC

VP for Conference Planning, MAR-AMTA

Ian C. Vereen, MT-BC, NMT

VP for Conference Planning-elect, MAR-AMTA

MORE HOTEL INFORMATION

Our 2022 MAR-AMTA conference has been open for one week and we are seeing people register everyday! Will you be joining us? Click on this link (Registration Link) to register, and hurry because Early Bird rates close on February 20th at 12:00am!

The 2022 MAR-AMTA conference will be held at the Hilton Harrisburg, PA from April 7th-April 9th, 2022. One of the many benefits of staying at the conference hotel is that attendees can receive a discounted hotel room. Not to mention you are only an elevator ride away from all the conference events! 

Registrants will have two ways to book their hotel rooms utilizing the conference discount: 

1. By calling 717-233-6000, select option 1, then provide the code: MARAMT and the dates of your stay. 

1. Clicking this link (Hotel Room Link). If you are coming in a day early, or staying a day longer, you will have to adjust the dates at the top of the page. 

You will only be able to receive the conference discount rate until March 16th, 2022 at midnight. This means you must make your reservations before March 15th, 2022 at 11:59pm. If you make your reservations after March 16th, please call 717-233-6000 and request the group rate with the code above. 

Our conference is full of wonderful events and presentations! To see our full line up of sessions, please go to our website (MAR-AMTA Conference) to find all the information! If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to Timothy Doak (vpconferenceplanning@maramta.org) and Ian Vereen (vpconferenceplanningelect@maramta.org). We look forward to welcoming you to the conference this year! 

Updates from 2020-2021 Assembly of Delegates Meetings

The 2020-2021 Assembly met four times around the time of the AMTA annual conference: September 21, October 12, October 20, and November 17.

Main topics of discussion

• Discussion of different work group models for consideration/equitable collaboration
• The MAR Delegation wrote and presented the following statement at the 10/20/21 meeting:

The MAR Delegation continues to discuss the many challenges currently facing the Association and the profession, including the harm inherent in the policies, procedures, systems and governance structures of AMTA and the continued harm caused to marginalized members of the music therapy community during numerous meetings over the course of the 2021 conference. As a delegation, we remain disturbed and demoralized by the lack of public-facing accountability by our national leadership and the continued absence of actionable items over concrete timelines despite the continuous calls for reform over the past several years from diverse communities in our field. While our intention was to voice specific action requests for accountability during this meeting, given the complexity of these concerns, we have determined that more time is warranted for reflective consideration. We will bring a comprehensive statement forward in the next few weeks communicating clear expectations about actions national leadership can take to begin restoring trust and faith in AMTA as an organization that represents broadly, equitably, and fairly. 

In closing, we would like to re-state the symbolic statement affirmed by majority vote at the post-Business Meeting on Friday, 10/15/21: Move that the membership acknowledges our harmful current system and processes and each of our parts in it, and that current board members and those on the ballot for the next election reflect on their fitness regarding diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice to serve on the board at this time. If they do not feel fit to serve, those members should resign or resign from their candidacy.

• Report from the Standards of Clinical Practice Committee
• Two new appointees to the Judicial Review Board (Cheryl Benze (SER) and Hakeem Leonard (MAR))
• Ethics Board elections (Adrienne Steiner (SER) 4-year term; Justine Hancock-Marsh (WR) 4-year term; Shawna Vernisie (MAR) 3 years remaining of Jen Sokira’s term)
• Issues related to the AMTA DEI Committee and representation on the AMTA Board of Directors
• Statement of support for AMTA CEO Adonia Calhoun Coates from the Regional Presidents at the 11/17/21 meeting:

We, the undersigned, would like to extend our profound gratitude and appreciation for the hard work, dedication, and steadfast commitment to meaningful growth that our CEO, Adonia Calhoun Coates, has demonstrated for the past year. Over the past several years, our organization has faced the ongoing challenges of responding to tumultuous changes, revealing our structural barriers, and giving voice to long-held pain. This time has forced us to take a long and painful look in the mirror at the ways in which we must improve for our members, colleagues, students, and ultimately, our clients. We believe that CEO Coates has demonstrated tremendous leadership, grace, and respect for the history of our organization since stepping into her position, often going above and beyond the responsibilities of her role.

We strongly believe that Ms. Coates can help AMTA move closer towards fulfilling its mission, and we affirm our commitment to sharing the burden of taking accountability, addressing the concerns of our membership, and building a more equitable future for our organization. As we move forward, we recognize the work that still needs to be done and reiterate our support for Adonia Calhoun Coates in her role as CEO. There is an expansive membership willing to step up and step in to work to make the changes that

must be made. We are thankful for the opportunity to continue this vital work alongside her.

Authors: Minda Gordon (SER), Bob Miller (MAR), Tiffany Laur (SWR), Brian Jantz (NER), Becky Wellman (WR), Kelli McKee (MWR), Melaine Pohlman (GLR)

• Consideration of virtual/in-person/hybrid models for future Assembly meetings

Updates from 2022-2023 Assembly of Delegates-Elect Meeting

The 2022-2023 Assembly-Elect met on November 10. The main business at this meeting was to elect Assembly Representatives, including the new Speaker and Assistant Speaker, to the AMTA Board of Directors (BOD). The results are as follows:

Assembly Representatives to the 2022-2023 AMTA Board of Directors

Order listed: Speaker, Assistant Speaker, then the final 2 Assembly Representatives in alphabetical order

Speaker of the Assembly: Brian Jantz (NER)

Assistant Speaker of the Assembly: Spencer Hardy (WR)

Assembly Representative: Mia Iliopoulos (GLR)

Assembly Representative: Kate Myers-Coffman (MAR)

ALTERNATE Assembly Representatives to the 2022-2023 Board of Directors

Listed in the order called to serve in the absence of an Assembly Representative (according to number of votes received, per AMTA Bylaws, Article VII, Section 6)

First Alternate: Kevin Bock (SW)

Second Alternate: Gretchen Chardos-Benner (SER)

Third Alternate: Channing Shippen (NER)

Fourth Alternate: Brian Abrams (MAR)

Other updates

Following the Assembly-Elect meeting, the MAR Delegation was to vote to elect their new Assembly Chair per the MAR Bylaws, Article VII, Section 3. However, no Delegates volunteered to run for the position. Donna Polen, outgoing Assembly Chair, volunteered to continue in the position for a final term out of a sense of duty to the region and a commitment to serve and support the MAR President. A poll was sent to the Delegation and was approved by a 90% majority vote on 11/30/21.

In mid-December, Delegate Noah Potvin notified the President and Assembly Chair that he was stepping off the Assembly in order to serve on the Board of CBMT. As a result, 1st Alternate Lauren Stoner moved up to the position of full Delegate, all remaining Alternates moved up a position, and we now have 3 vacancies in our Delegation. See the current list below, and remember that you can find information about the Assembly and contact information for the Delegation here: https://mar-amta.org/about/committees/assembly-of-delegates/

2022-2023 Assembly Delegation

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

Lauren Stoner

ALTERNATES, in order of being called

Melinda Korte 

Nicole Hahna

Shawna Vernisie

Ian Vereen

Kendall Joplin 

Kim Drabik

Bailey Hunter

Cheyenna Eagle

Cassie Byers 

Melanie Walborn 

Mary Claire Holiday

Vacant

Vacant

Vacant

Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a happy and healthy transition into this new year. Here is what Nina and I have been up to the last couple of months. 

At our last e-board business meeting, we officially voted on the budget for fiscal year 2022 (our fiscal year aligns with the calendar year). We crafted the budget to provide as much support to the region as possible while still remaining conservative and fiscally responsible for the long term. Our spring conference is planned to be in-person and this is a tremendous expense. While we realize that the ongoing pandemic and the accompanying financial stressors present challenges to our in-person conference, we are hopeful and excited to have an amazing turnout. This conference is our main source of income and its success will bolster the region’s financial health and allow us to keep holding conferences in the future, as well as support membership. We look forward to seeing you there! 

Additionally, in the first month of the new year we teamed up with the Maryland State Task Force and the Maryland Association for Music Therapy in order to help quickly raise and distribute funds to support Maryland music therapists applying for licensure under the new legislation. This effort was a success and we hope to continue raising funds going forward to support future licensing efforts of the region. A tremendous thank you to everyone who donated to this cause! 

As we move forward into the new year, Nina and I will be preparing for spring conference, planning for the future financial health of the region, and most importantly – doing taxes. We look forward to seeing many of you at our spring conference in Harrisburg!

Scholarships

• All scholarship applications are now open! Please use the following links to apply:
• Sophomore/Junior/Graduate Scholarship: https://forms.gle/QBx63uFEQHsPDP136
• Jenny Shinn Memorial Intern Scholarship: https://forms.gle/yWXxRcTorwt6EUsW6
• Music Therapy Club Award:

  https://forms.gle/dE3mECft8HGCUujs8

Student Leadership Academy

We are working closely with the Pennsylvania State Task Force Members to coordinate our Student Leadership Academy this year. We will be hosting “The Role of Advocacy in Your Music Therapy Career” on Thursday, April 7th from 9AM-12PM. Registrants must also be registered to attend the MAR Conference.

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