NATS has announced that seven early-career teachers of singing have been selected to receive 2018 Emerging Leader Awards.

This biennial grant program with partial funding from the NATS Foundation is designed to recognize teachers of singing with no more than 10 years of teaching experience and who are active at the chapter and regional level of NATS. Winners receive a $750 grant to assist with their attendance at the NATS 55th National Conference, which takes place June 22-26, 2018, in Las Vegas.

The seven NATS Emerging Leaders for 2018 are:

• Laurissa Backlin, Cleveland, Mississippi (Southern Region);
• Robyn Frey-Monell, Long Beach, California (Cal-Western Region);
• Daniel Hunter-Holly, Brownsville, Texas (Texoma Region);
• Jennifer Bryant Pedersen, Mars Hill, North Carolina (Mid-Atlantic Region);
• Emily Jo Riggs, Vernon, Connecticut (New England Region);
• Kimberly Soby, Coral Gables, Florida (Southeastern Region); and
• Jessica Usherwood, Sewanee, Tennessee (Mid-South Region). 

Laurissa Backlin	Robyn Frey-Monell	Daniel Hunter-Holly	Jennifer Bryant Pedersen
Emily Jo Riggs	Kimberly Soby	Jessica Usherwood

This year's applicants were from the Cal-Western, Mid-Atlantic, Mid-South, New England, Southeastern, Southern, and Texoma regions. Applicants from the other seven NATS regions will be eligible for the 2020 awards. More information on the Emerging Leaders Awards can be found here.