MUMBAI: Charitable organisation formed to support music creators through music education, talent development and humanitarian initiatives- The ASCAP Foundation, promoted Colleen McDonough as the executive director. McDonough will be taking over the role from Karen Sherry on 1 July.  Sherry retired from her role after 17 years of service.

The ASCAP Foundation board of directors president Paul Williams said, "The Foundation is one of our most vital resources for young people starting out on the path to creating music, and Colleen has been a huge asset since she joined its leadership team, constantly pushing the organisation to new heights."

Williams further added, "Foundation programs like The Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Awards and our annual Washington, DC ‘We Write the Songs’ featuring America’s greatest songwriters and composers have flourished over the last several years. With Colleen’s guidance, I’m confident that we will continue to find exciting new ways to benefit young music creators and to extend the legacies of those that have come before them."

During McDonough tenure as former director of The Foundation, she drove fundraising and program management. She also helped boasting 175 per cent funding for the association and also increased the number of Foundation programs from 65 to 163. The funds spent on programs rose more than 200 per cent. McDonough served as associate producer of The ASCAP Centennial Awards, and oversaw the implementation of new initiatives such as Creativity in the Classroom, Children Will Listen, Songwriters: The Next Generation at the Kennedy Center, Young Jazz Composers Awards and the Fresh Air Fund Summer Guitar Camp. Before joining The ASCAP Foundation, she was with McDonough as the assistant executive director for special projects at the Women's Sports Foundation. She held various roles at different organisations like director educational affairs at the Public Relations Society of America, executive director of the Public Relations Student Society of America and assistant dean and adjunct instructor at Pace University.