We are delighted to announce our founder and Executive Director, singer-songwriter Valerie Ghent, was a panelist in a recent FEMA Think Tank conference call, held on September 25, 2013.

Valerie spoke about Feel the Music!, her own experience as a volunteer at the WTC site, and the role of music and the arts during the 9/11 recovery to a national audience. After her presentation, the call was opened up to questions and comments from disaster relief workers and from the public, who all shared great enthusiasm, interest and acknowledgement of the powerful role music and the arts play in ongoing recovery post-disaster. Richard Serino, Deputy Director of FEMA, moderated and hosted the call. It was an honor to share some of our work at Feel the Music! on such a large scale.

To hear previous Think Thank calls visit the archives. The September 25 call will be added soon.

What is the FEMA Think Tank? “FEMA recognizes that the best solutions to the challenges we face are generated by the people and the communities who are closest to these challenges. It is essential that these partners are invited to the table to actively participate in thought-provoking discussions.”