Brett Morris is JAM’s Executive Director and President since 2014 (Independence, VA office). Brett is a native of Grayson County, Virginia, where she learned to play and dance to traditional old time and bluegrass music from family and community members. Brett is an award-winning flatfoot dancer and clawhammer banjo player, and also plays numerous other instruments with the well-known trio, The Blue Ridge Girls. Her formal education includes a B.A. in Public Policy and Community Service, as well as English from Emory & Henry College, and coursework in Secondary English Education and Special Education K-12. These fields of study and her love for traditional music and culture make Brett an advocate for sustainable communities and place-based learning. Contact Brett at [email protected]
Jim Lloyd is JAM’s part time Program Director (Independence, VA office). Jim has over thirty years experience in teaching and playing traditional Appalachian music, and has often been called a keeper of stories, as he carries with him generations of music and tales from legendary musicians. He is utilizing this historical knowledge to develop creative projects to engage JAM students with the full cultural traditions of the music. Jim will also be working directly with teachers and staff to help programs be more successful through the development of new instructional resources. Contact Jim at [email protected]
Cody Bauer is JAM’s Field Office Coordinator with a concentration on fundraising (Knoxville, TN satellite office). Cody is a bluegrass and old time fiddler with experience and education in middle school education, as well as the music industry. Growing up, he loved jamming with his fellow musician friends, and would have loved to have been connected to an organization like JAM. Cody is managing the provision of resources, materials and support to existing JAM affiliates in the East TN and Western NC regions, as well as the coordination of new program development in those areas. Contact Cody at [email protected]