Mark Leiter joined the Save The Music board at a critical moment and made a significant difference from the start.
In my early days as Executive Director, we had to rebuild our governance after most of the original “VH1 Save the Music” board had departed.
Once Mark joined, he was all-in. He donated his professional expertise as a corporate strategist (Nielsen, Boeing) to fundamentally rethink how we approached our impact and work.
He actively recruited several additional board members, one of whom he correctly identified as a future board chair.
He was a frequent and important sounding board for me as a new Executive Director finding my way. More than once, those conversations helped me navigate board dynamics that without Mark’s insight could have grown into much bigger crises.
Most importantly, he was deeply aligned with our mission of every student in every school having the opportunity to make music. He understood the power of music education because of his own experience as a young person, and music was a constant part of his life.
And he was an incredible sax player. You can see the joy and creativity he brought to his playing in this video, produced by the board chair Mark recruited, Allen Murabayashi.
Mark passed unexpectedly this spring and his wife Jill has very generously set up a way to give to the Save The Music endowment in his memory. The Mark Leiter Save The Music Endowment Fund is more than a tribute—it is a lasting investment in students, schools, and communities.
If Mark’s story inspires you, we invite you to make a gift in his memory. Together, we can ensure his passion for music education lives on by creating opportunities for future generations of young musicians.