Megan Arns - Secretary
Dr. Megan Arns is a percussionist, ethnomusicologist, and educator with a diverse set of skills and a driven passion for her craft. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO where she has served as Director of Percussion Studies since 2014. Recent past faculty positions include Mansfield University in Pennsylvania and the National Music Conservatory in Amman, Jordan where she was also the Principal Timpanist of the Amman Symphony Orchestra. She is a section member of the New Hampshire Music Festival during the summers and has also performed with the St. Louis, Tallahassee, Sarasota, Missouri, Northwest Florida, Albany, Southern Tier and Macon Symphony Orchestras.
Active as a contemporary chamber percussionist, Megan’s recent highlights include collaborative performances in Spain, France, India, Jordan, Costa Rica, Ghana, and the United States at venues such as the Kennedy Center, Millennium Park, Smithsonian Institution, and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. Megan regularly performs with two contemporary chamber groups: the [Switch~ Ensemble] – an electroacoustic ensemble based out of New York, and DRAX – a saxophone and percussion duo in residence at Mizzou. Through these groups, she has commissioned and premiered dozens of works with living composers.
Megan received her D.M.A. in Percussion Performance & Literature and M.A. in Ethnomusicology at the Eastman School of Music. She was also awarded performance degrees from Florida State University (M.M.) and Truman State University (B.M.), where she was recognized as a Presser Scholar. Her primary teachers include Michael Burritt, John W. Parks IV, Michael Bump, Musekiwa Chingodza, Emmanuel Agbeli, and Nyoman Suadin. Megan endorses Vic Firth Sticks & Mallets, Pearl/Adams Musical Instruments, Black Swamp Percussion, Remo Drumheads, and Zildjian Cymbals.
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Juels Thomas - First Vice-President
Juels Thomas has never lived in a house without a drumset. She thinks this is normal. Her father was a drummer and started teaching her to play at the age of five. From there, she went on to march snare all four years of high school, graduate with a BA in Professional Music Business from Berklee College of Music in Boston and is currently the Director of Marketing and Artist Relations for Drum Workshop, Inc., which includes DW Drums, DWe, Gretsch Drums, Latin Percussion, Pacific Drums & Percussion and Slingerland. Juels is involved in the marketing strategy, planning and budgeting for all DW brands as well as overseeing artist and industry relations globally. She also manages the company’s trade show presence, clinic tours, artist sessions and participation at music festivals all over the world. Juels has been an active Advisory Member of the Percussive Arts Society’s Drumset Committee since 2008 and currently serves on PAS’s Board of Directors.
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Deb Birnbaum - Director
Deb Birnbaum, MBA, is the Educational Affairs Innovations Director and Scholarly Concentrations Program Director at the Indiana University School of Medicine. She previously managed the successful reaccreditation of the School, the nation’s largest medical school. Deb likes to play big; is motivated by chaos and challenges, and is excited by transformative experiences that lead to a better future. Deb has had a dynamic career in education, health care, entrepreneurial and other complex organizations. She has extensive experience in directing programs, strategic planning and implementation, change leadership, project management, and communications and marketing. Prior to joining IU School of Medicine in 2015, she was at National Louis University in Chicago where she led implementation of the University’s five-year strategic plan; managed development of a new college and led (re)design of academic programs. Her initiatives demonstrated agility and continuous improvement, and strengthened the position of this 130-year-old institution, which was under serious pressures facing many schools. Deb’s other experiences include leading communications and outreach for a leading national nonprofit fighting childhood obesity, director of Public Relations for Anthem, Inc., and director of Marketing Communications for Sallie Mae.
Deb has an MBA from Indiana University Kelley School of Business and a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University. Among her extensive community leadership is the MusicCrossroads Steering Committee; the Jewish Community Center of Greater Indianapolis Board of Directors; chair of the Drum Corps International World Championships steering committee; and Indiana University Kelley School of Business, where she served on the executive committee of the national Kelley Alumni Association board of directors and as Central Indiana chapter president. She’s received the Kelley School’s alumni leadership award and the Spirit of Philanthropy award, the Jewish Community’s Larner Leadership award, and is a Visit Indy Rose Award nominee. Deb loves life with her husband, Len; daughter, Emily; and sons, Ayrton and Fletcher. The Adventures of Deb and Len include live music, sports and theatre, travel and volunteering for Indy Jazz Fest.
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Derek Moore - Director
Derek Moore has refined a uniquely collaborative style of creative leadership throughout a career that has elicited lifelong loyalty from colleagues and clients alike. Moreover, it has produced profitable, award winning and brand building interactive, direct, and relationship marketing work. Over his 25+ years as a marketing professional, Moore has honed a unique set of skills capable of addressing every communication challenge his clients face.
Experienced in brand advertising, yet equally expert in the highly measured and accountable arenas of direct and interactive marketing, Moore has increased both brand value and direct revenue by strategically integrating the two disciplines to the benefit of each. During Leo Burnett USA’s heyday, Moore led the agency’s direct, promotional, and interactive marketing creative group with extraordinary success. His partial client list included Allstate Insurance, Walt Disney World, Dewar’s, Hallmark, Kellogg’s, Kraft, McDonald’s, Proctor & Gamble, and United Airlines.
Moore left Burnett to lead the creative transformation at CM Partners, a suburban Chicago agency. He would help take the shop from near extinction to an international award winner and object of a multi-million dollar bidding war. True North/FCB would ultimately acquire CM Partners and bring Moore in as the global agency’s managing director for the Chicago-based division of FCBi, its integrated marketing arm overseeing a team nearly 150 strong, focused on the confluence of brand, direct and interactive marketing. He eventually opened his own integrated marketing agency, Vero. Five years later Moore was asked to help drive the establishment of direct marketing, CRM services and to lead the creative group at The Marketing Store. He accepted this challenge as well, successfully acquiring new clients and growing agency revenues. He was then recruited by Engauge to improve the quality of the creative work and strengthen client relationships. Some of the clients Moore served at these shops included Best Buy, BlueCross BlueShield, Coca-Cola, DeVry University, Dyson, Gatorade, G.E Capital, Kraft, John Deere, Logitech, and McDonald’s.
Throughout his professional career, Moore has sought opportunities to use his gifts, talents, and experiences to serve nonprofits. Consequently, he has provided strategic marketing expertise and design services for Every Tribe Every Nation, Bernie’s Book Bank, Christ Church Lake Forest, Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Bluff as well as Ethnographic Media, and Trinity International University. Currently he is the Chief Creative Steward of Freadom, LLC,. In addition, as time and resources permit, he serves small and medium sized companies, nonprofits and start-ups by providing brand strategy and marketing expertise as Kick-Start Collective, a virtual brand, marketing and communications consultation and execution practice. Moore has also desired to serve his industry, both seasoned professionals and aspiring students. He has been a contributing editor to DM News, authored a chapter on branding for The IMC Handbook. From time to time, Moore has also made time to guest lecture in the Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University’s Medill School and at Trinity International University.
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