Welcome

Danielle lives, works, and writes

from Long Beach, California

and is available for professional

development and writing.

Contact Danielle for more info.

dcollins.music@gmail.com

Work

Director of Arts, Media, & Entertainment

Inspire EDU & Study Smart Tutors

Adjunct Professor

Vandercook College of Music

Training Facilitator

MusicFirst

Board President

Pulse Percussion, Inc.

Board Member

CVUHSD & Santa Monica AME Advisory

Previous

Music Media Entertainment Technology Chair, Academy for the Performing Arts, Huntington Beach High School

Contract Consultant & Training Facilitator, Los Angeles County Office of Education, CTE Arts Media Entertainment Institute

Board member, AMEI, CBDA & CMEA Innovations Council

VAPA Coordinator, Instrumental Music Director, Rosemead High School

Adjunct Professor, CSU Long Beach & CSU Los Angeles

 
 

Awards

2022, Yamaha’s 40 Under 40 Educators

2021 Orange County Music & Arts Administrator Award

2018, Grant Winner, National Endowment for the Arts, Experiential Ensembles

Presentations

Director- NJMEA Popular Music Honor Group 2026

Facilitator- Music Education Symposium: Berklee College of Music, 2025

“Bridging Ensemble to Industry,” NFHS Performing Arts, 2025

“Popular Music Reading Session: Ear Before Ink,” Music Will Summit 2025

"Connecting Arts Educators to Industry," NAMM 2025

"Industry-Ready: Empowering Student Autonomy Through Curated Content," NAMM 2025, NJMEA 2025

“CTE AME Standards, Work-Based Learning, and Industry Partnerships,” Los Angeles Unified School District, Long Beach Unified School District, 2024

“Culturally Relevant Pedagogy,” a teacher workshop. Fountain Valley Unified School District, 2024

“Popular Music Lead Sheet Design,” a student workshop. NJMEA 2025

“Steps to Amp Up Your Commercial Music Program,” NJMEA 2024

“A Place to Belong: Reaching your Students Where They Are,” Midwest Clinic, 2023

Host- National Pop Music Workshop, Sponsored by Yamaha (See Schedule Outline, Session Descriptions, & Resources)

“Pop Music Learning Lab Intensive,” San Diego Summer Music Institute, 2023

“$100,000 Reasons to Expand Your Market,” National Association of School Music Dealers, 2023

“Advanced Tools and Strategies for Commercial Music Programs, Featuring Student Performers,” NAMM 2023

“Steps to Amp Up Your Music Program: Featuring Students Performers,” NAMM 2023, Oregon MEA 2023

“Hometown Heroes,” San Diego Arts Empower Mega Conference 2022

“Expanding Markets with Popular Music,” Nick Rail Music Seminar 2022

“Technology in a Post-Covid World,” NAMM 2022, Partnered with Yamaha Corporation of America

“Expanding Your Markets,” AIMM Conference 2022

“Hometown Heroes,” Educators Collective Conference, 2021

“Popular Music in the High School Classroom,” CMEA Bay Section Conference 2020, Arts Schools Network Conference, 2019

“T-Shirts not Tuxes: Reaching the Other 80% of Students on Your Campus,” International Music Education Summit 2020, California All-State Music Educator Conference 2019

“Creating Your Community,” Keynote Speaker, National Association for Music Education Regional Conference 2019

“Creativity and Project-Based Learning,” California All-State Music Educator Conference 2019

“Conversations and Insights: Breaking Through Tradition,” California All-State Music Educator Conference 2018

“Diverse Approaches to Developing a Nontraditional Ensemble,” CASMEC 2017, SCSBOA 2017, APME 2016