The NAfME Council for Jazz Education supports NAfME members and the jazz community by serving as a resource to improve the quality of teaching and research in jazz education at all levels.
Bethany Robinson
Bethany Robinson is a Yamaha Performing Artist, 2022 GRAMMY Music Educator Award Finalist, NAfME Jazz Council Chair, President of the Indiana Jazz Educators Association, and serves on the Jazz Education Network Board. She is currently the Jazz Band Director for Noblesville Schools in Noblesville, Indiana. Since 2010, the jazz program has expanded from 1 to 6 bands, and the top jazz ensemble qualified for the Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival in 2021 and 2022, and was awarded the 2023 ISSMA Honor Jazz Band for the state of Indiana.
Council Members
Bethany Robinson (2022-2024), Chair
Jazz Band Director
Noblesville High School
Noblesville, Indiana
Paul Carr (2023-2025), Eastern Division Representative
Executive Director
The Jazz Academy Of Music
Silver Spring, Maryland
Peter Sampson (2023-2025) North Central Division Representative
Director of Bands
Whiteland Community High School
Whiteland, Indiana
Bill Leather (2022-2024) Northwest Division Representative
Band Director
Mount Si High School
North Bend, Washington
Lenora Helm Hammonds (2023-2025) Southern Division Representative
Department of Music & Director of Graduate Programs/Jazz Studies Chair
North Carolina Central University
Durham, North Carolina
Joseph L. Jefferson (2022-2024), Southwestern Division Representative
Associate Professor of Music, Director of Jazz Ensembles
St. Olaf College
Northfield, Minnesota
Dee Spencer (2023-2025) Western Division Representative
Professor of Jazz and Musical Theatre
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, California
Lonnie Davis (2023-2024), Member-At-Large Representative
President and Chief Executive Officer
JazzArts Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Roosevelt Griffin (2023-2024) Member-at-Large
Dyett Chair for Jazz Studies
VanderCook College of Music
Chicago, Illinois
Lisa Linde (2023-2024) Member-at-Large
Band Director
Newton South High School
Newton, Massachusetts
