MusiCares Names Theresa Wolters Executive Director

Leading music charity MusiCares has officially appointed Theresa Wolters as its Executive Director. She has previously stepped in as Interim Executive Director earlier this year after previously serving as the organization’s Vice President of Health & Human Services since 2022.

Today’s announcement notes that Wolters “now formally leads MusiCares in its mission to provide a safety net of comprehensive support to the music community.” MusiCares was founded by the Recording Academy in 1989 as a U.S.-based, independent 501(c)(3) charity to provide a safety net of health and welfare services to music professionals in the areas of mental health and addiction recovery services, health services and human services.

“Theresa embodies the spirit of MusiCares. She approaches her work with empathy and clarity, and she strengthens every story with facts that show why our work matters,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy® and MusiCares, said in a statement. “Her leadership ensures that music professionals will continue to have access to the care and support they need — recognizing that financial struggles, health concerns and mental health challenges are often deeply connected.”

Today’s announcement adds that over the past few years at MusiCares she’s been recognized for her ability to connect the lived experiences of music professionals with data that highlights both the urgency of challenges such as mental health and addiction recovery and the impact of MusiCares’ response. 

Wolters has more than two decades of global health and humanitarian leadership. Highlights from her career include her work at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, where “she helped shape global strategies that delivered lifesaving services to tens of millions of people affected by HIV and other infectious diseases.”

She was also a founding employee of Millennium Promise and helped launch the Millennium Villages Project, “one of the most ambitious demonstrations of the UN’s development goals in action.” And during her time with the International Medical Corps, Wolters “directed health and refugee programs across five African countries, bringing care and stability to some of the most vulnerable populations on the planet.”  

Wolters earned a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University and a Master of Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University. She also studied African Affairs at the University of Cape Town.

“Every day, MusiCares has a life-changing, and often lifesaving, impact on music professionals. For 35 years, MusiCares has been driven by compassion and a relentless focus on solving the big challenges facing our community. I am truly privileged to work alongside such an outstanding team of committed professionals and know MusiCares will continually rise to meet the needs of those we serve,” Wolters said.

Visit https://www.musicares.org/ for more information and to get support.