WOMEN'S AUDIO MISSION

Women’s Audio Mission (WAM) is a San Francisco-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that is dedicated to the advancement of women in music production and the recording arts, a field in which women are critically under-represented (less than 5%). WAM is changing the face of sound by providing women and girls with access to and training in music production and the techniques and technology used in the recording arts. In an era that is increasingly dependent on technology, WAM believes that wom... en’s participation in this field will expand the voice of music and media, ensuring that women's ideas, interests, and points of view are conveyed throughout their culture and society. Women’s Audio Mission was formed in 2003 in direct response to the economic and social inequity that women face in music production and the recording arts. The organization began at City College of San Francisco, where founder Terri Winston served as the director of the highly successful recording arts program from 2001 - 2011. Through word-of-mouth and an informal WAM peer mentoring program, women’s enrollment in CCSF’s recording arts program increased from 12% to 43% —the highest percentage of total enrollment in any recording arts institution in the U.S. Today, as an independent nonprofit entity, WAM’s goal is to share the best practices used to increase the enrollments of women and girls and support underserved girls and women with free and low-cost music production training and services, along with networking and mentorship opportunities. WAM is the only organization in the world that is providing this kind of specialized training for women, and is recognized widely for setting standards in music recording arts. In 2009 the White House Office of Social Innovation came to San Francisco to observe WAM’s facilities and services as part of an effort to identify best practices and creative methodologies in programming and assessment for the education of young women and girls, a vital component of President Obama’s “Educate to Innovate” Campaign for Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) Education initiative. WAM’s world-class recording studio is the only studio in the world run entirely by women and was recently selected as a 2012 “Best of the Bay” winner by the SF Bay Guardian.