CMA Promotes Emily Evans And Tiffany Kerns

CMA has announced two key promotions in support of ongoing strategic efforts. Emily Evans has been elevated to Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, while Tiffany Kerns adds Vice President, Community Outreach to her current role as CMA Foundation Executive Director.

“Both Emily and Tiffany have been key strategic leaders on our CMA team for a number of years,” says Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “Both possess a high level of integrity and are innovators in their respective fields. I’m pleased that both Emily and Tiffany will be interacting and engaging with our Country Music community and our CMA Board of Directors on a much deeper and more frequent level.”

In her new role, Evans will oversee programs and projects that support CMA’s mission and short-and long-term objectives, including the CMA Songwriters Series, CMA KixStart Artist Scholarship, various CMA industry task forces as well as the implementation of a company-wide CRM program. She will be responsible for overseeing all awards processes and special awards events, which include the CMA Awards, CMA Touring Awards, CMA Triple Play Awards, and the Country Music Hall of Fame inductions, among others. In addition, Evans will continue to lead all integrated marketing efforts with the organization’s network partner ABC in order to secure high-quality and high-value broadcast, social and digital content integrations.

Evans previously held the title of Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships. Prior to joining CMA in 2014, Evans held positions with st8tmnt, 13 Management, MAC Presents, and MAD Booking and Events. Originally from Cleveland, TN, Evans graduated summa cum laude from Carson-Newman University with a degree in business management and marketing.

In addition to her current team consisting of Michelle Kirk (Director, Integrated Marketing), Megan Sykes (Director, Sales Development & Strategy), Kevin Coffey (Senior Manager, Strategic Partnerships) and Lara Henley (Senior Manager, Strategic Partnerships), Brenden Oliver (Senior Manager, Awards & Strategic Initiatives) and Michael Farris (recently promoted to Business Intelligence Lead) will now report to Evans. Contact Evans at [email protected].

Kerns will continue to oversee CMA’s nonprofit arm, the CMA Foundation, as Executive Director and adds Vice President, Community Outreach to her role, creating and implementing CMA’s community outreach initiatives including the CMA Foundation as well as CMA EDU, the organization’s collegiate development program. She will also oversee CMA’s membership practices and programming to ensure transparency and integrity for CMA Awards voting, including the CMA Awards, CMA Touring Awards, CMA Triple Play Awards, and various CMA industry awards. Kerns will also provide strategic direction and management of CMA membership development, evaluating the effectiveness of existing structures and developing strategies to ensure effective membership recruitment and retention.

Prior to joining CMA in 2012, Kerns worked for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She is a 2018 Women in Music City Award recipient and led the CMA Foundation to receiving the 2017 National Stand for Music Award supporting music education advocacy. Originally from Bradenton, FL, Kerns graduated from University of Tennessee—Knoxville with a degree in political science and a minor in business administration.

In addition to her current team consisting of Lindsey Jones (Project Manager, Community Outreach), Falon Keith (Grants Associate) and Kate Kaltenbach (recently promoted to Manager, Membership Engagement), Angela Strader (recently promoted to Manager, Board & Membership Services) will now report to Kerns. Contact Kerns at [email protected].