March 08, 2022 I Philanthropy
SWIM Announces Group’s Evolution to Women of NAMM
On International Women’s Day, Smart Women in Music (SWIM) has announced the group’s evolution to Women of NAMM (WON) and status as an official, all-volunteer council of NAMM. With the move, WON will continue to pursue the vision, mission and objectives set forth by SWIM to benefit women in the music products industry and expand to include female professionals in other NAMM member categories, including the pro-audio and entertainment technology segments.
“The vision of SWIM was born out of a desire to reach and serve women who wish to expand their horizons and who demonstrate ambition for a leadership role. To do this, we focused on three pillars: to connect, support and grow the presence of women within the industry,” said Robin Walenta, president and CEO of West Music, and one of the founders of SWIM. “Now, as an official council of NAMM, the foundational vision set forth will continue to grow and benefit many, many more.”
The SWIM Team was founded in 2018 by industry leaders Walenta, DeDe Heid, who serves as president of Heid Music, and Crystal Morris, who serves as CEO of Gator Cases, to support women “in the music products industry to develop their leadership aspirations and to broaden and deepen their leadership proficiencies.” Through the support of donors to the SWIM Fund, the group has hosted several virtual professional development roundtables, networking gatherings at The NAMM Show and Summer NAMM, as well as two leadership summits at NAMM headquarters in Carlsbad, California. The fund has also provided opportunities for travel scholarships to attend and job shadow top female professionals at The NAMM Show in Anaheim, California, and Summer NAMM in Nashville, Tennessee.
“Through the work of SWIM, an incredible network of courageous, thoughtful next-generation leaders has been fostered. We look forward to WON continuing to be a resource for continued professional development for women across the industry,” Heid said. And Morris echoed that sentiment: “Becoming WON sets the future precedent to elevate female representation at every level.”
As part of the realignment, the donor-driven SWIM Fund will transition to the WON Fund and remain under the direction of The NAMM Foundation. To honor the contributions of its female leaders’ stewardship of SWIM/WON, Heid Music, Korg and Yamaha have pledged donations to the new WON Fund.
The group’s podcast, “SWIM Masters,” will also experience a name change. Led by Natalie Morrison of D’Addario, Stephanie Lamond (creative producer/artist) and Julia Olsen (of Julia Olsen Music), the monthly podcast will continue to feature female leaders across the industry sharing their professional journeys and lessons learned.
WON will operate as a volunteer-led council of members of NAMM and is open to all NAMM members, at no cost to join. Lisa MacDonald of Yamaha will serve as chair, Julie Wagnitz of Heid Music will serve as first vice chair and Morgan Walker of Korg will serve as second vice chair.
“We are honored to be part of building value and opportunity for women in all parts of the industry,” MacDonald said. “In the coming years, WON will focus on scaling and broadening the already excellent professional development opportunities created by SWIM.”
