The Recording Academy elected eight trustees to their first terms and re-elected 11 trustees to their second terms. They join 24 trustees who are midterm and thus were not on the ballot this year. These include the four national officers — Tammy Hurt (chair), Rico Love (vice chair), Om’Mas Keith (secretary/treasurer) and Christine Albert (chair emeritus).
In partnership with Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr., the board of trustees “strategically guides and shapes the mission and policies of the Academy and its commitment to promote diversity, equity and inclusion, fight for creators’ rights, protect music people in need, preserve music’s history, and invest in its future,” according to a statement. (This serves as a concise summary of the Academy’s current priorities.)
“I’m honored and excited to welcome this diverse and accomplished group of creatives to the Academy’s leadership team,” Mason said in a statement. “These newly elected leaders will be instrumental in continuing the Academy’s transformation by serving as representatives for their peers on all things from refining the Grammy Awards process, to advocating for creators’ rights and beyond. We thank the Academy members who participated in this year’s elections and look forward to the continued progress that this esteemed group of trustees will achieve.”
In a separate statement, Hurt added: “I can’t wait to work alongside this stellar group of leaders as we continue to build on the Academy’s progress these past two years. Our board reflects the diverse music community we represent, and I know these talented minds will help expertly guide the organization with music creators’ best interests at heart.”
Each year, voting and professional members in each of the Academy’s 12 chapters vote in their respective chapter board elections to elect their chapter’s governors.
Of the 42 trustees who customarily serve on the national board (there are 43 this year), 30 are elected by the chapter boards (15 each year) and eight are elected by voting and professional members of the Academy (four each year). The remaining four seats are comprised of the national trustee officers. Trustees may serve two two-year terms before they must take a year off. After that, they may be re-elected, but thereafter they must always take a year off in between their two two-year terms.
Twelve of the 43 total trustees are Grammy winners – John Legend (who has amassed 12 Grammys), Dave Cobb (seven), Angélique Kidjo (five), Yolanda Adams, Chuck Ainlay and PJ Morton (four each), Michael Romanowski (three), Natalia Ramirez (two), and Cheche Alara, David “Swagg” Harris, Julia Michels and the aforementioned Om’Mas Keith (one each).
Elected to their first terms:
Chuck Ainlay
Nabil Ayers
Jennifer Blakeman
Alex E. Chávez
EJ Gaines
Jordan Hamlin
Terry Jones
Mike Knobloch
Elected to their second terms:
Yolanda Adams (Texas chapter)
Doug Emery (Florida)
Chelsey Green (Washington, D.C.)
Andrew Joslyn (Pacific Northwest)
Thom “TK” Kidd (Atlanta)
John Legend (Los Angeles)
PJ Morton (Memphis)
Natalia Ramirez (Florida)
Michael Romanowski (San Francisco)
Von Vargas (Washington, D.C.)
Gebre Waddell (Memphis)
Currently midterm (weren’t up for election this year)
Cheche Alara
Christine Albert
Maria Elisa Ayerbe
Larry Batiste
Marcus Baylor
Evan Bogart
Bun B
Ferddy Calderon
Dave Cobb
Beth Cohen
Samantha Cox
Anna Frick
Kennard Garrett
Tracy Gershon
David Gross
Jennifer Hanson
David “Swagg” Harris
Tammy Hurt
J. Ivy
Om’Mas Keith
Angélique Kidjo
Rico Love
Susan Marshall
Julia Michels
For the full list of the Academy’s board of trustees, chapter officers and Academy bylaws, click here.
