Save The Music (STM) is proud to welcome Daniel Almanza to the team as the West Coast Regional Program Director. Focused on restoring equitable music education access for all public school students, he is responsible for supporting grantees, implementing programs, and cultivating partnerships and advocacy throughout California.
Daniel brings his relationship-building skills and experience as an educational leader to deliver meaningful change. His personal journey demonstrates the impact that music education can have on transforming someone’s life. An East Los Angeles native, he credits his high school band director and his access to a rich arts education in the LA Unified School District (LAUSD) for challenging him to imagine a world beyond his local neighborhood and pursue audacious goals. As a result, he was the first person in his family to attend and graduate from college, launched his career as an educational leader, and now joins the national STM team as the West Coast leader.
My own personal and professional experiences are why I’m excited to be a part of an organization that dedicates its time, energy, and resources towards impacting the lives of young people through music education. I have experienced, seen, and believe that providing access to music builds community, promotes a positive and collaborative school culture, and provides tools for students to problem solve in all aspects of their lives. I am excited to extend the work of the Save The Music team in building partnerships with district leaders, educators, and advocates in order to create meaningful change for communities that can benefit the most, and to extend the joy that music brings to communities, something that is so important today. Access to music education transformed my life.
Before joining Save The Music, Daniel served as a high school music educator and educational program director, building and reviving high school music programs in Sacramento, Los Angeles, and the San Gabriel Valley. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor’s in Music Education from the Thornton School of Music and earned a Master’s in Entrepreneurship from the Marshall School of Business. In his free time, you can find Daniel volunteering as a member of the Tournament of Roses Association and the Burbank Philharmonic, playing through The Beatles song catalog with his wife, and trying to perfect traditional Mexican recipes that his grandma would be proud of.
To learn more about our team, visit www.savethemusic.org/about/#team