The Country Music Association has announced the hiring of Matthew Seaton as Community Outreach Manager. CMA was the first trade group formed to promote a single genre of music in 1958.
In this position, Seaton will work closely with The CMA Foundation to create, develop, and implement CMA’s community outreach initiatives, including the Keep the Music Playing music education program and CMA EDU, the organization’s college/university outreach program. Seaton will oversee PSA campaigns and related promotional programming, and provide support to The CMA Foundation Board to facilitate activities related to its mission. He will insure that the criteria are met for The CMA Foundation grants and donations, and manage the grant process, including grant reporting. Seaton will also assist with the coordination and programming for CMA EDU, including scheduling speakers, vetting student applications, setting up new chapters, servicing curriculum materials, and facilitating ongoing communication. He will report to Amy Smartt, Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration.
“Matthew’s skills and experience make him an excellent choice for CMA’s first-ever Community Outreach Manager,” said Smartt. “CMA and The CMA Foundation both look forward to working with him as we continue to develop our community outreach initiatives and expand CMA EDU even further.”
Seaton was most recently the Partnership Program Director for the PENCIL Foundation, where he spent nearly two years recruiting and managing partnerships between Metro Nashville Public Schools and more than 200 local businesses and organizations and composed successful grant requests, among other responsibilities. Prior to that, he served more than five years as the Assistant Director of Operations for Mission Encounter, Inc. Previously, he served two years as Clinical Supervisor, Intercept and CHOICES Program for Youth Villages. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Religion with a Minor in Psychology from Trevecca Nazarene University.
More than 11,000 music industry professionals and companies around the globe are members of CMA. Formed in 1958 as the first trade association for a single genre of music, the organization’s objectives are to serve as an educational and professional resource for the industry while advancing the growth of Country Music around the world. This is accomplished through CMA’s strategic imperatives – CMA Music Festival and the companion CMA Music Festival television special; “Country Music’s Biggest Night™,” the CMA Awards; and CMA’s latest television venture “CMA Country Christmas.” All of CMA’s TV properties air on the ABC Television Network through 2021. For information about CMA visit www.CMAworld.com.