POTSDAM -- The Crane Institute for Music Business has named Mary Luehrsen, director of public affairs and government relations for NAMM (the International Music Products Association), and executive director of the NAMM Foundation, as its Fall 2012 Executive-in-Residence.

Luehrsen is visiting the SUNY Potsdam campus on Oct. 17 and 18. During her residency, Luehrsen will interact with students and faculty in a variety of settings, including classroom presentations and discussions and in faculty discussions regarding the relationship between the music products industry and music education, as well as current research in the field of music education. She will also observe Crane School of Music rehearsals and performances.

Since 2001, Luehrsen has overseen NAMM's federal level policy development and government relations efforts around issues affecting access to music education and global commerce in the music industry. She routinely meets with top officials at the U.S. Department of Education to reinforce the role and importance of music education as a component of a world-class educational delivery system.

As executive director of the NAMM Foundation, Luehrsen provides support for research in music education and workforce development in music products and publishing. The NAMM Foundation also sponsors the annual survey of the "Top 100 Best Communities for Music Education."

New York State leads the nation with 52 of the top 100 districts in the 2012 survey, many of which are led or staffed by music education graduates from The Crane School of Music, which in 1886 was the first institution of higher learning in the United States to develop a course of study in preparing qualified music educators for the public schools.

Among its activities, the NAMM Foundation is supporting a research initiative called the "Sounds of Learning," which will build a portfolio of music education research projects to inform policy deliberations around the re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the federal education legislation.

Luehrsen was a professional flutist for 20 years. A certified music educator, she taught elementary general music and band, and secondary instrumental music in Wisconsin and New York for 16 years, managed the Westchester Philharmonic, and, as an independent consultant, worked with corporate and non-profit clients in the areas of strategic planning, fundraising and trustee development.

The primary mission of the Crane Institute for Music Business is to enhance communication and facilitate a mutually beneficial partnership between SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music and the music products industry. It works to promote partnerships with music industry associations and businesses.

The Crane Institute for Music Business provides opportunities for students to interact with industry professionals through such activities as music business roundtables and visits from executives.