David Schreiber received his Ph.D. in the faculty of Marketing and Business Strategy from the University of Westminster in the U.K.  His research investigated the influences upon strategic decision-making practices within music industry micro-enterprises in the U.S.  He continues to present his work internationally and has lectured on the strategy and the symbolic power that influences the music industry field.  In addition to his work on decision-making, he is currently studying the role of strategic sexual performance in the music industry and its influence on firm culture and behavior.  He is also working on two textbooks:  Managing Organizations in the Creative Economy:  Organizational Behavior for the Cultural Sector through Routledge Publishing in the UK and Principles and Practice of the Global Music Business through Kendall Hunt Publishing.

In addition to his work, David is an Associate Editor of the MEIEA Journal, a member of the Academy of Management (AOM), European Group of Organization Studies (EGOS) and the Music and Entertainment Industry Educator’s Association (MEIEA).

Prior to his time in academia, David began his career as an independent musician and teacher before moving into a Regional Sales Manager at Schmitt Music. He later took positions as a Marketing and Business Development Manager for Shiny Penny Productions, in the licensing and royalty department of Miami Records, as Business Development Manager at Pivot Entertainment and managed artist Dean Fields.

Nate Drake, an alumni of Belmont University, is an Assistant Professor of Creative and Entertainment Industries in the Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business at Belmont University.  Prior to teaching, Nate was a full-time entertainment attorney on Music Row practicing at Dickinson Wright, PLLC for several years, followed by Loeb & Loeb, LLP. He brings his experiences of representing artists, performers and entertainment and media companies to the classroom to provide a high quality and practical learning experience for his students.  

He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration (with a major in Music Business) from Belmont University and received his Juris Doctor degree from Belmont University College of Law, where he was part of the inaugural graduating class.  During law school, he was president of the Belmont College of Law Student Bar Assocation, as well as the founder and past president of Toastmasters International, Belmont Law Chapter. Nate is an alumni of Society of Leaders in Development (SOLID) and Nashville Emerging Leaders. Nate has been recognized in the MusicRow Publication: Next Big Thing, as well as in Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch. 

In his free time, Nate enjoys playing and watching sports, cooking and spending time with his wife, Michelle, and daughter, Emmy.

Prior to his time in academia, Dr. Stephen Rush was a Worship & Creative Director at Fellowship Bible Church in Brentwood, TN. In that position, he provided creative oversight, managed, and produced numerous live events a year while also working with and developing musicians and production volunteers. In addition to this, Dr. Rush has lectured internationally on creativity, music, and their connection to society and the church. He has also continued to work as a creative consultant and freelance graphic designer throughout his time in Nashville, Malibu, and Tuscaloosa with clients that include Land Rover, AIG, Sony, Provident Music Group, Capitol Records, and Southern Living Magazine. His current research consists of work in the areas of entertainment crisis communication, media entertainment, and public perception in sport.

Hogeun Seo received his Ph.D. in media studies at the University of Texas at Austin. His research interests include entertainment technologies, media management, and service or product designing. His articles were published in academic journals such as International Communication Gazette, International Journal of Communication, and Asian Journal of Technology Innovation.

 Before He came to academia, he worked for diverse new media and IT companies such as Samsung Electronics. His primary job was product development and he participated in various projects of developing platform services or smartphone applications.

 Hogeun Seo teaches Creativity & Innovation, and Creative Entertainment Technology.

Mr. Schrum is an entertainment attorney with over 25 years experience advising clients in the areas of music, celebrity issues, endorsements, licensing and entrepreneurship. He has litigated several high-profile copyright infringement actions as an experienced litigator at the Federal level. 

As adjunct over the last ten years, Mr. Shrum teaches entertainment law, licensing, copyright, cyberlaw, music publishing, and other legal issues classes. 

Dr. Sarita Stewart is an Assistant Professor of Creative & Entertainment Industres in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business.  Her journey to becoming a college professor was circuitous at best.  Sarita, a native of Oregon City, Oregon, grew up dreaming of a career in the music business.  Soon after her graduation from Oregon State University armed with a degree in Business Administration, she headed to Los Angeles.  She soon met legendary record company executive Mike Curb, and became a receptionist at his company. 

Sarita learned the business from the ground up, working with such top musical artists as Tim McGraw, LeAnn Rimes, Wynonna Judd, JoDee Messina and many other artists over the course of her 14-year employ at Curb Records.  She also earned a Masters of Business Administration at Claremont Graduate University during her time in Los Angeles.  One of the highlights from that time was the opportunity to take a class from management theorist Peter F. Drucker.  Following her graduation, Sarita transferred to the Curb Records Nashville headquarters, having received a promotion to Director of Marketing for the label.  She eventually left to become the U.S. Marketing Director for the Vienna-based microphone and headphone manufacturer, AKG Acoustics in 2000. 

Dr. Stewart began teaching part-time as a Belmont adjunct in 2005, prior to becoming a full-time instructor in the Entertainment Industry Studies program in 2007.  She went on sabbatical leave in 2009 to undertake a Ph.D. in Communication at The University of Alabama.  While at Alabama, Sarita received UA’s Graduate Council Fellowship award, which allowed to her study with the communication scholar, Dr. Jennings Bryant, prior to his retirement.  Her 2013 dissertation, Artist-Fan Engagement Model: Implications for Music Consumption and The Music Industry, was overseen by her Graduate Studies Dean, Dr. Shuhua Zhou. 

As an entertainment researcher, Dr. Stewart continues to focus upon varied research interests, including music consumption, video games, artist fandom, and mood management.  She has several published book chapters, including an essay on LeAnn Rimes’ album Blue in Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself: Essays on Debut Albums(Ashgate).  Her most recent book chapter, “TV, Radio, and Music Research,” written in collaboration with Dr. Louisa Ha of Bowling Green University and Jeff Green of Stone Door Media Lab, was published in Research Methods in Communication (Third Edition) (Vision Press).  She has also served as a participant at various academic and industry panels.

Most importantly, Dr. Stewart loves working with her undergraduate and graduate students.  Her teaching expertise is in the areas of public relations, music marketing, and consumer research.  It is very important to her to pass along her passion for, and love of, the entertainment business.  It is indeed an honor to help educate the next generation of entertainment and music industry artists and executives.

Ronald P. Stroop is a native of Nashville and was a guest lecturer in the Music Business program at Belmont University in the mid-1980’s. He has seen Music City and Belmont grow and expand their influence and vision throughout the world over the years. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Samford University and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. The career path has included a legal practice of corporate and business law with a specialty in entertainment, music, copyright, trademark, right of publicity and intellectual property law. Representation included all types of clients from artists, songwriters, artist managers, recording and publishing companies and movie and television producers of several network and cable shows. Entrepreneur ventures, consulting services and most recently managing contract negotiations, administration and intellectual property matters for a book publishing company has brought him full circle in 2011 to an adjunct position at Belmont teaching Copyright Law, Entertainment Law and Licensing, Survey of Music Business and Senior Capstone classes.

These years at Belmont University have been rewarding and I am enjoying the experience with a professional and knowledgeable faculty along with first class students and am excited to join them in continuing the vision of providing the entertainment industry with excellent future leaders.

Beginning a career as an educator in the early 90’s, Cristi Williams-Gilbert left public education to be involved in the entertainment industry with her daughter, Hayley, over 15 years ago. Hayley Williams, is the lead singer of the Grammy nominated and multi-platinum band, Paramore. “This adventure opened my eyes firsthand to what artists/entertainers experience and taught me how important it is to have a balanced life as well as a solid support system.” 

After counseling many bands and artists on the road, Cristi founded a life coaching business called Shading the Limelight. Shading the Limelight provides artists, actors, and entertainers emotional support and tools to help navigate through the challenges and daily demands of the Entertainment Industry. Clients include and affiliated with Sony, Universal, Nickelodeon, Disney Records, Atlantic Records, Walt Disney Studios, Hollywood Records, and TV Networks (ABC/NBC/Fox/CW/Lifetime).  

Cristi Williams-Gilbert has been an adjunct professor at Belmont University for 5 years, teaching Emotional and Social Intelligence in the Entertainment Industry Studies Dept. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education and Minor Degree in Counseling as well as being a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistics.

Angie Underhill Adams currently serves as the President & CEO of PENCIL, a nonprofit organization with the mission of supporting public education.  She has been in this role for two years and has recruited pro-bono PR services from a top Nashville firm, increased board engagement and giving, and begun the process to increase Partnership engagement exponentially. She aided the PENCIL board and staff in creating a new strategic plan, which is focused on supporting Metro Nashville Public School’s (MNPS) key Partnership targets – Elementary Literacy, Middle School STEAM, and High School Industry Certification Exams.  Angie’s passion is to change the community narrative about Nashville’s public education system, believing that the more people that are engaged with MNPS, the more positive the impact will be.

Ms. Adams has 25 years of experience providing financial and administrative services to a variety of nonprofit organizations both as a management level staff member and a freelance consultant and trainer. Before joining PENCIL, she served as Executive Director of Nashville Ballet where she led a very significant capital campaign and physical expansion project to allow School of Nashville Ballet to double in size. Under her leadership the Ballet significantly expanded its class offerings, number of professional performances annually and garnered a much higher level of community support and engagement. 

Prior to her work with Nashville Ballet, Ms. Adams was the Director of Finance and Administration for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas and received the honor of being named Nonprofit CFO of the Year for Austin, Texas in the spring of 2010.  Before moving to Texas, Ms. Adams served as CFO/COO for five years at Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art. She also spent several years as Director of Finance and Administration with the Sexual Assault Center which was awarded the Marvin Runyon Leadership Award for Excellence in Management During a Time of Crisis by the Center for Nonprofit Management.

Her first nonprofit staff position was with Nashville Opera where she managed finances, public relations and group ticket sales. She was an administrative intern with Nashville Ballet during college and spent several years volunteering with the ballet.

Ms. Adams was named a 2017 Women of Influence by the Nashville Business Journal.  She has a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Belmont University’s Honors Program and now serves as an adjust faculty member at Belmont.  She is board president of FALL Aerial Dance Company, a Reading Clinic tutor, an active member of The Rotary Club of Nashville, and regularly volunteers with Nashville Public Radio.  Ms. Adams is now in her 30th year of dance studies and continues to take a variety of dance classes.

Ms. Adams is the mother of an eleven-year-old daughter, Maggie, who recently graduated from Eakin Elementary School and is now attending Meigs Middle Magnet

Currently Mr. Cortese serves as an Adjunct Lecturer and the Director of Alumni Communication & Young Alumni at Belmont University.  During the first half of his career, Mr. Cortese served as the Director of Client Services & Special Projects for the artist management firm SEG, Inc. The organization provided career management services for clients whose collective career sales have exceeded (315) million records worldwide. The roster included Grammy® award-winning artists & producers, a Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductee, Multi-platinum recordings artists, a New York Times Best Selling author & an Emmy® nominated composer.

In 2016 Mr. Cortese was cast as the host of Victory Lane for the following motorsports series:

 *   The 2016 Weathertech Sports Car Championship,
 *   The 2016 Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup,
 *   The 2016 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge,
 *   The 2016 Laborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo,
 *   The 2016 Mazda Prototype Lites Racing Series.

In 2017 he played the role of Roy Cash in the TV series Million Dollar Quartet and Mr. Devlin in the film CloveHitch starring Dylan McDermott.

A native of Delaware, John Green is rather new to Belmont University and the Nashville area. Attending Wilmington University and the University of Delaware, John holds a Masters of Business Administration and a Bachelor’s Degree with a concentration in Business Management.

Initially a full-time touring musician, he later worked for 22 years in the Banking field, culminating as an Assistant Vice President in the Database Management division for The Bank of New York. Shortly after, John and his wife owned a large retail shop and coffee shop about the time he began teaching. Over the last 12 years, he has taught Economics, Business Management, Finance, and Human Resources for Wilmington University, Delaware State University, and now Belmont University.     

Never forgetting his love for music, John has continued to play over the years, while often sharing the management and production roles. He has shared the stage with the likes of Faith Hill, Charlie Daniels, Alison Krauss, Restless Heart, and many more. John also owned West Street Studio for nearly 20 years, where he served as song writer, engineer, producer, and studio musician.  

John says it is a true honor to be teaching at Belmont University. He and his family are thrilled to live in Nashville!

Mark H. Maxwell is a Nashville-based entertainment attorney, music business veteran and Belmont University professor.

Throughout his career, he has been committed to counseling and connecting creatives who shape culture. As an entertainment attorney, Mark represents a diverse roster of celebrities, record labels, music publishers, artists, bands, worship leaders, entrepreneurs, authors, songwriters, artist managers, record producers, filmmakers, churches, technology companies and entertainment executives concerning their intellectual property.

As a professor in Belmont University’s prestigious entertainment industry and songwriting program, he teaches courses on music business, faith and culture, copyright law and Bob Dylan. Mark loves serving as a mentor to the next generation of entertainment business professionals and has an extraordinary ability to speak to the hearts of creatives while helping them discover their voice and clarify their dreams.

Michael Sloane is an executive leader and digital strategist with a proven ability to develop and increase revenues while building a loyal consumer base specializing in the ever changing digital space. 

 As a digital strategist he has worked with Entertainment brands, Small Businesses, Startups, and Corporate accounts, building successful and profitable relationships.

 Cutting his teeth with Echomusic (later acquired by Ticketmaster) and later Live Nation Artists, he saw the digital revolution unfold for artists such as The Rolling Stones, Kanye West, John Mayer, Zac Brown Band, Keith Urban, Mariah Carey, and Brooks & Dunn.

Sloane later focused on digital strategy and ecommerce optimization with Taylor Swift (13 Management) and was most recently the Director of Interactive for Big Machine Label Group (Taylor Swift, Florida Georgia Line, Tim McGraw, etc.)  He is currently the General Manager of Hidden Road Strategy a division of Hill Entertainment Group, advising entertainment products in concept, go to market strategies, and business development.

Through the management of software development, client management, ecommerce optimization and digital strategy, Sloane has been able to build and grow the digital footprint of some of the largest entertainment brands in the world. 

He currently is the VP of Operations for Wonderful Union specializing in fan club and VIP ticketing, while also serving as CEO of Streaming Promotions and Systemic a label services company.