NAMM Director Appointed to White House Council on Creativity and Aging

Mary L. Luehrsen will help develop recommendations to Congress and Executive Branch on how music helps aging citizens.

April 26, 2005

NAMM, the International Music Products Association, announced today that Mary L. Luehrsen, director of public affairs and government relations, has been named to the steering committee for the Mini-Conference on Creativity and Aging, an official planning advisory council of the White House Conference on Aging. The purpose of the conference is to develop policy recommendations effecting seniors to the president and Congress and to assist the public and private sectors in promoting the dignity, health, independence and economic security of older Americans.

Luehrsen will help develop recommendations on how music and the arts contribute to quality of life, self-sufficiency and independence and why every older adult should have the opportunity to be involved in the arts. Research has consistently shown that making music offers health benefits for people of all ages, including relieving stress in adults and staving off some effects of aging in the older population.

A group of 36 leaders in the fields of aging, the arts, education and research will address these important issues at the White House mini-conference, to be held May 18 and 19 at the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C. Luehrsen has been working as a steering committee member for the past 10 months, developing content for the conference. Her appointment has helped NAMM create a greater presence on the national level and with federal government to promote the benefits of music and music making for people of all ages.

For more information on the White House Conference on Aging, interested parties can visit www.whcoa.gov.