ASCAP’s Senior Vice President of Membership, Nicole George-Middleton, has been newly appointed as the Executive Director of The ASCAP Foundation. In her role leading The ASCAP Foundation, she will report directly to ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews and join the ASCAP Executive Leadership team.
Commenting on the appointment, Matthews said: “Nicole is an outstanding leader with exciting, fresh ideas for continuing the incredible work of The ASCAP Foundation in music education, in nurturing and developing aspiring songwriters and composers and in using music as therapy. I am thrilled that we can tap her talents and her passion to help grow the important work of The ASCAP Foundation.”
Paul Williams, who serves as Chairman of The ASCAP Foundation, added: “The ASCAP Foundation is about heart and the power of music to bring joy and to make the world a richer, better place. Nicole has a big heart, deep connections with our ASCAP songwriters and composers and a clear sense of how to harness the goodwill and energy of our entire ASCAP community for the greater good.”
In addition to her ASCAP Foundation work, she will continue as SVP of Membership reporting to ASCAP Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer John Titta.
George-Middleton has been at ASCAP since 2008 and was promoted to Senior Vice President, Membership, in 2016. She is responsible for the oversight and daily operational management of ASCAP’s Rhythm & Soul and Symphonic and Concert Membership Departments on a worldwide basis. Before coming to ASCAP, she was Director of Business & Legal Affairs at Zomba Music Group, and prior to that she practiced entertainment law at The Middleton Law Group PC. She received her B.A. from University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School. She is a member of the American Bar Association, Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association, the Executive Committee of She Is The Music, and was named to the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players List in 2019 and 2020.
George-Middleton replaces Colleen McDonough, who retired earlier this month after 21 years with The ASCAP Foundation. She was promoted to its Executive Director in 2015. McDonough guided the Foundation during a period of growth and achievement in fundraising and in increasing the impact of its programming on the lives of children and aspiring music creators. Among the many new initiatives that she helped launch are Creativity in the Classroom, Children Will Listen, Songwriters: The Next Generation at the Kennedy Center, Young Jazz Composer Awards, Fresh Air Fund Summer Guitar Camp, and so many more. McDonough also was instrumental in the creation and implementation of the important ASCAP Archives and the annual “We Write the Songs” event at the Library of Congress. McDonough will continue as a consultant to The ASCAP Foundation.
