NAMM Staff

WMAX-TV Host Jim Hutton with NAMM Vice-President, Bill Gard.

Dominique Agnew has been dedicated to the music industry, serving NAMM for over 25 years -- most notably as the Associate Director for Trade Show Sales. She bore witness to the growth of the Anaheim Show in the late 1980s and played a vital role in the expansion of international exhibitors over the years. Dominique began her career at NAMM covering nearly every aspect of the trade show, from meetings and events to registration and sales. Her perspective on the development of the industry has been important to the Oral History Collection for documenting our industry’s history. 

 Joy Akerman was one of the first volunteers in the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music docent programs back in 1999.  Over the years, she became active in many elements of the museum, including the store and the monthly volunteer training classes.  Her love of people and music made her role at the museum a perfect fit.  More recently, Joy was hired as the receptionist who greets all NAMM visitors and holds court behind the much talked-about lobby desk, which is in the shape of a grand piano. 

Karl Bruhn was the Bob Hope of the music industry, having received so many awards and accolades – an award should have been given for the most awards received. Karl gained his reputation as an advocate for arts education and accompished much on many levels to teach an understanding of music and promote the concept that music does make a difference in people’s lives.

Tim Cunningham worked for a trade show design company in the late 1960s for which NAMM was a client. William Gard, NAMM’s CEO at the time, offered Tim a full time job to oversee the show's special events and programs. Tim organized educational sessions for attendees with the same concept that NAMM University would later offer retailers and suppliers classes focused on growing their business. Tim stayed with NAMM for a decade before leaving the industry in the late 1970s. 

Dan Del Fiorentino is the Music Historian for NAMM who heads the industry's Oral History program. Dan began this special project in March 2000, after having served as the first curator of the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music. Since that time, the collection of video interviews has grown to cover nearly every segment of the music products industry. Dan has always enjoyed collecting history and conducted his first interviews for his radio station program in the San Francisco Bay Area beginning when he was 15 years old.

Eric Ebel is a Senior Project Manager for the Public Affairs and Government Relations department at NAMM. Working throughout the industry before taking a job at NAMM prepared Eric for a multitude of roles within the organization including in the Trade Show Sales department before finding his passion with Public Affairs and Government Relations. During his 2017 NAMM Oral History interview, Eric discussed the growth of NAMM during his tenure and some of the many highlights from his career with the organization.

Eric Glasnapp (1969-2015) was the archivist in the NAMM Resource Center, where he took part in the filming of 74 interviews during his short four months as an employee.  He worked closely with his friend and NAMM Historian, Dan Del Fiorentino to help document the history of the music products industry.  Eric was not only great at his job, he loved it, as evident by the strong impression he made on those he met.  His eagerness to learn and his passion for music resulted in 18 interviews in which he took the lead by asking the questions.  Eric was killed on his bicycle while exercis

Allison Hargis was teaching middle school in the Poway Unified District when a student’s mother approached Allison about an opening for a band director in nearby Carlsbad. Allison learned about the need for a conductor for the New Horizon Band located at NAMM’s Museum of Making Music.  She was thrilled as she had always enjoyed teaching music to beginners and found educating adults very rewarding. She later joined the museum staff as education manager, a role that has resulted in her many lifelong friends with fellow music lovers.

Donna Henson holds the unique distinction of being a docent for the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music as well as a former employee of NAMM.  The headquarters for NAMM in Carlsbad, California is also the location for the Museum of Making Music, which was opened to the public in 2000.  Donna began working in the NAMM office in 1989, just a few years after its relocation from Chicago.  Her main role in the NAMM offices involved planning meetings and events around the country for retailers as well as working on the two annual trade shows.  She stayed with NAMM until 1992.  You

Malcom Holman and his twin brother, Martin, began playing music together at an early age. Encouraged by their father, the two, sometimes playing with his older brother Jonathan, formed several of their own bands over the years performing at churches and for parties. Their band Soul Flow combined elements of jazz and hip-hop and featured several of their own compositions. Largely self-taught, Malcom developed his skills as a singer and bassist before earning his degree in music business and talking classes at Berklee College of Music.

Pete Johnston was a Video Director for NAMM when he raised his hand to volunteer to help with the production of the TEC Awards.  The TEC Awards were new to the NAMM Show and the need to create and execute a top notch awards program was paramount.  Pete leads the team that produces the show, which is held at the Anaheim NAMM Show each January.  Pete’s career with NAMM began in 1995, after a successful career as a bass player in Southern California.

Sandra Jordan is a strategic communications leader with more than 30 years of experience guiding mission-driven organizations through complex communications challenges to strengthen brand integrity and advance meaningful social impact. Raised in a classically trained musical family and a clarinetist in her youth, Sandra’s lifelong connection to music and arts education has deeply informed her professional path. At the NAMM Foundation, Sandra played a pivotal role in Public Affairs and Government Relations, helping elevate national conversations around music education and arts advo

Bill Kilpatrick radiates an unwavering commitment to both the craft of musical arrangement and the preservation of its storied heritage. From the tender age of nine, when he first cradled a guitar in his hands, Bill embarked on a journey fueled by an insatiable passion for melody. The echoes of the Beatles' harmonies resonated deeply within him, spurring him to master classics like "Hey Jude" on both guitar and piano by the age of 15. Amidst the coastal allure of Long Beach, his musical odyssey took a unique turn as he became a tour guide aboard the venerable Queen Mary, serenadin

Mildred Kirschner was simply known as Millie around the NAMM headquarters office where she was hired in 1946. The Chicago based association was being run by Mr. Mills when a heart condition forced him to retire. A young William Gard became the next leader of NAMM who has since become a legend in the industry. Millie spoke of her role as office manager and the caring way Mr. Gard oversaw the staff. Mr. Gard was restructuring the association after the war and included the staff in many new projects. Millie was put in charge of one of Gard’s ideas to collect a copy of everything NAMM

Joan Kramer was just out of high school when she was hired to do some office work at the NAMM headquarters building in Chicago. The year was 1947, a very important time in the industry’s history and NAMM’s own history. The association’s doors had been closed for two years during the war, affected by the shift to war needs as were many of its members. The years following the war were difficult at first but with such a boom, it was an exciting time. Joan worked with Bill Gard and six other office employees on the 1948 and 1949 trade shows. The latter was held in New York City and it

Joe Lamond has been a music maker since he was a young boy. After touring with several bands and rock performers, Joe became the manager of Skip’s Music in Sacramento, California, before gaining the attention of NAMM, who used his talents to strengthen the Market Development Department. After a series of successful programs including Piano 300 and NAMM’s partnership with Sesame Street, Joe was asked to take the role of CEO in 2001 when Larry Linkin retired.

Larry "Link" Linkin began his career in the industry as a salesman for the G. Leblanc Corporation and wound up the C.E.O. of NAMM, retiring the year that the organization marked its 100th anniversary. Link not only helped grow NAMM into an international association with ever-growing trade shows, but increased the global music market with summits, educational programs, and NAMM University. In 2000, another dream was realized when the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music was opened to the public.

Mary Luehrsen is a music advocate dedicated to music education and promoting support for music education.  As Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations for NAMM and a former music teacher and professional musician, Mary has helped NAMM and its partners with policy issues and legislation that impact access to music education in the United States.  Mary spearheaded the development of the SupportMusic Coalition and created partnerships with high profile music advocates such as former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and music icon Quincy Jones.  She guided NAMM strategic par

Larry Manley first met the former CEO for NAMM, Larry (Link) Linkin, while he was working at a bank in Escondido, California where Link held NAMM's business accounts. It was during a time when NAMM was growing and Link thought it was a good time to elevate and strengthen NAMM's financial staff, and bring NAMM's financial forecasting and reporting in-house from the accounting firm that was handling it at the time.

John Mlynczak soared as a student on his trumpet. He engaged other students and teachers alike to gain the most out of their experiences together while in practice or performing for contests. He worked at Mars Music in high school and pursued his music education degree all while seeking to provide more education programs in the music industry. He worked at PerSonus and did exactly that, expanding the thought process into the marketing and sales department with questions that went to the core of the customer experience. John took his skill set to Hal Leonard for seven years before

Michael Mullens grew up in his father’s New England music store. He caught the music bug early and to the surprise of even his father, Michael also became a knowledgeable salesman while he was still a kid. Understanding the products and the needs of the store’s customers seemed to come natural to Michael. While studying music business in college, Michael interned with NAMM in the fall of 2016. He later was hired in the Resource Center to assist with the growth and development of the Oral History program.

Zach Phillips lives and breathes the music products industry, and this has led him into a role that appears to have been tailored specifically for him as the Director of Professional Development for NAMM. With a passion for music products and an innate ability to educate others, Zach has been pivotal in the growth of the educational offerings provided by NAMM. Zach sat down in 2017 to discuss his career at NAMM as well as the development of the Professional Development department and the education experience at NAMM Shows.

Stuart Robertson is the Creative Director at NAMM with over 20 years of experience with the organization. With a passion for music and a talent in creating marketing and communications material, Stu has been an integral part of the NAMM team and has witnessed the exponential growth of the association over the past 20 years. During his 2017 NAMM Oral History interview, Stu discussed many of the changes in technology he has witnessed over the course of his career and some of his favorite NAMM Show moments.

Lillian Siegh played a vital role in the inner workings of NAMM for over 35 years! William Gard hired Lillian as a secretary in 1949 and for a time she was the office manager before becoming Mr. Gard’s executive secretary. She helped plan many of NAMM’s events and was instrumental in the parties during the NAMM show including the memorable finale evening banquet. After Mr. Gard’s retirement in 1981, she became Larry Linkin’s assistant. She retired when NAMM’s headquarters was moved from Chicago to Carlsbad, CA, in 1984.  

Linda Vincent worked for a short time at the NAMM headquarters, which is where she met her husband, the late John Vincent, who at the time was Director of Trade Shows. We missed our chance to interview John for the Oral History program as he passed away in 2013.  However, Linda was thankfully able to cover much of his history and her own views of the industry and the inner workings of NAMM for a decade beginning in 1984.