PANEL: Amplifying Impact: Driving Social Change Through Music
Featured Speakers:
Yeji Cha-Beach - Senior Director of Artist Relations, HeadCount
Currently working at the intersection of entertainment and civic impact, Yeji Cha-Beach is also a producer, performing arts administrator, violinist, and founder & curator of Did You Hear, a live music series.
Yeji recently joined HeadCount as the Senior Director of Artist Relations after over a decade of producing musical guests and the Emmy-nominated 8G House Band on NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers”. Prior to Late Night, she honed her production, operations and communications skills at non-profit performing arts organizations like the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and Carnegie Hall. Yeji has spoken at several panels, most recently at the Recording Academy & Amazon Music's GRAMMY U Conference, covering the challenges and nuances of delivering live musical performances on television.
Before deciding to work behind the scenes (and screens), Yeji trained as a classical violinist and used to have some impressive calluses on her fingers. In addition to her life in music, Yeji loves training for marathons & triathlons with SOMA Fox, her running club in NJ, and exploring the world with her family, including two young children.
Jon van Gelder - Executive Director, Grounded Foundation
Jon van Gelder has been at the forefront of transforming Grounded Foundation into a unifying force in the fight against climate change. As the Executive Director, he leads the organization's strategy to merge philanthropic and cultural strategies to accelerate climate solutions with bipartisan audiences.
Under his leadership as the organization's first Global Head of Impact, Grounded led the Clean Energy Freedom campaign in 2022, earning support from major artists like Mark Ruffalo and Chris Evans. The campaign played a key role in persuading President Biden to ramp up U.S. clean energy production in defense of national security following Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Since taking the helm in 2024, Jon’s mandate has evolved to include helping other nonprofits and philanthropic organizations use cultural influence to spark major change. Together, Grounded's partners and grantees have united to save 185 endangered fin whales in Iceland with Jason Momoa and Björk, help Amazonian youth thwart anti-Indigenous legislation with Billie Eilish, Jaden Smith and Leonardo DiCaprio, and win stronger global biodiversity targets with support from Meryl Streep and Hilary Swank.
With 14 years of experience in impact strategy, culture campaigns, and strategic communications for major brands, artists, and nonprofits including MTV, Universal Music, Bruce Springsteen, and New York Public Radio, Jon's knack for blending cultural engagement with advocacy has made him an emerging force of nature in the global movement for climate solutions.
Marni Wandner - Founder, Future Present Consulting
Marni Wandner is an executive coach, board-certified health coach and strategic consultant with over 20 years of experience as a music industry executive and entrepreneur. For nearly a decade, she has helped high-performing music industry professionals with everything from stress management and mental clarity to communication and leadership, supporting long-term, sustainable success. Drawing on deep industry insight and evidence-based training in coaching psychology, applied neuroscience and integrative wellness, Marni works with executives, artists and teams to navigate pivotal transitions, optimize performance, prevent burnout and more. She also works with touring musicians to support mindset, nutrition and wellbeing on and off the road.
Emily White is the Founder and CEO of #iVoted Concerts and a Founding Partner at Collective Entertainment in New York City. #iVoted produces data-driven concerts on election nights and during early voting periods that the public enters with a selfie from outside their polling place. White is a Visiting Fellow at Johns Hopkins University’s SNF Agora Institute with the mission of strengthening global democracy. Through this work White and SNF Agora Institute have analyzed the data on the top trending artists in key locations, whose electoral margins are often decided by the size of a concert venue, to determine which artists increase civic impact the most by comparing fan demographic data with local voter files. #iVoted and SNF Agora are currently developing a tool that shows where any artist increases civic impact the most. White is also an Amazon #1 best-selling author of How to Build a Sustainable Music Career & Collect All Revenue Streams and hosts the #1 Music Business podcast globally of the same name. She’s a 2020 Billboard Woman of the Year, has been on the covers of both Pollstar Magazine and Billboard and has proudly served on the boards of Well-Dunn, Future of Music, CASH Music, SXSW, The David Lynch Foundation Live while additionally serving on The Recording Academy’s Education Committee and Pandora’s Artist Advisory Council.