Michael Blakeslee, Senior Deputy Executive Director of MENC

Michael Blakeslee is Senior Deputy Executive Director of MENC: The National Association for Music Education. He received B.A.s in music and psychology and an M.A. in music composition from the University of Virginia, where he managed the electronic music lab. He has taught at institutions of higher learning both in the United States and abroad, notably at Northern Virginia Community College, Virginia Commonwealth University, the Universidad de Los Andes, and the Universidad Nacional Pedagogica de Colombia. He is the composer of musical works for choral, orchestral, electronic, and chamber media, and is the author of articles on music and music education.

At MENC, Blakeslee has served as editor of the award-winning Music Educators Journal and of Teaching Music magazine, the National Standards for Arts Education: What Every Young American Should Know and Be Able to Do in the Arts, and many MENC publications. He has directed the development of music education initiatives for other media, including broadcast radio, Webinars, and podcasts.

Blakeslee's work at MENC has also involved overseeing a number of significant cooperative ventures resulting in the development of teachers' materials to enhance the educational value of programs over public radio, television, and cable broadcast systems; to promote cross-curricular learning with math, science, social studies, and general education; and to encourage all decision-makers to engage more effectively in supporting music education.

In 2006, Blakeslee was designated a Lowell Mason Fellow, a distinction awarded to outstanding individuals in music education. He serves as the President of American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras, a youth orchestra association based in the Washington, DC area.