EDUCATING AND INSPIRING THROUGH THE POWER OF MUSIC
Connecting History, Literacy, Society, and Real-Life Experience
MeMA participants editing their PSA project
MeMA participants writing song lyrics
For 14 years, MeMA-Music, Inc. has served as a creative bridge across Chicago, empowering youth, young adults, and adults from communities of limited economic means. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we believe music is more than entertainment—it is a powerful gateway to literacy, critical thinking, social awareness, and deeper understanding. Through the analysis of meaningful song lyrics, participants strengthen communication skills, explore diverse perspectives, examine societal themes, and engage in discussions that encourage personal reflection. By connecting music to lived experience, storytelling, and emotion, we create transformative engagement experiences that help participants better understand themselves, society, and the world around them.
We specialize in creating supportive, trauma-informed environments where individuals—including veterans and adults navigating personal trauma—can safely reflect on their stories and process their experiences. Through a unique blend of guided listening and creative expression, our programs empower participants to build emotional resilience, strengthen confidence, and express themselves with clarity and purpose.
Core Principles
MeMA-Music Was Founded on Two Principles:
1. Music is a vehicle for personal expression and growth.
Meaningful songs give participants of all ages a way to explore ideas, reflect on experiences, and express their perspectives in creative and authentic ways.
2. People have the potential to create positive change in their lives and communities.
With guidance, support, and meaningful creative engagement, individuals can build confidence, develop skills, and gain insight that empowers them academically, socially, and personally.
What Makes Us Unique
MeMA-Music was founded by a music industry executive with over 20 years of experience working alongside some of the world’s most iconic artists. This direct connection to the music industry allows us to integrate music, learning, and creative expression in ways that are uniquely engaging and authentic.
We don’t just use music as background noise; we use it as a rigorous educational tool. Participants explore the stories, themes, and context behind powerful songs, using them as a lens to think critically and reflect on their own lives.
Professional Mentorship: Our programs bring the real world into the room. We connect participants with working musicians, producers, and creative professionals who share how they use their craft as a tool for storytelling, communication, and navigating the world.
Who We Serve
MeMA-Music works with youth, young adults, and adults across Chicago through active partnerships with schools, after-school programs, and community organizations.
Bridging the Opportunity Gap: Many of our participants come from under-resourced communities where access to consistent arts and creative learning is limited. We design our programs to engage individuals who may not always thrive in traditional learning environments, using music as an accessible entry point into literacy, history, and personal reflection.
Supportive Learning Environments: We are deeply committed to serving individuals affected by trauma. In these settings, music and creative expression provide a vital space for reflection. By meeting participants where they are, we help them strengthen social-emotional skills, build self-awareness, and find the confidence to navigate life on their own terms.
Core Program Elements
Our programs are designed to bridge the gap between creative expression and academic growth. We strategically integrate literacy, social sciences, and technology with civics and social-emotional learning.
We believe that songs of social commentary do more than just protest; they provide a mirror for the human experience. Through music, our participants learn to define their sense of purpose, identify with diverse perspectives, and find the resilience to navigate an ever-changing world. By examining our collective strengths and failings through song, we empower youth to transform their personal reflections into community impact.
Real-Life Learning Connections
Participants explore the stories behind the music to understand history and their own lived experiences. By linking educational themes to real-world events, learning becomes engaging, relevant, and memorable.
Creativity & Personal Voice
We provide a supportive space for participants to write, perform, and create. This process amplifies unique voices and uses guided reflection to help individuals express themselves with confidence.
Multidisciplinary Mastery
We bridge literacy, civics, and art to help youth navigate an ever-changing world. By exploring songs of social commentary, participants define their sense of purpose, identify with diverse perspectives, and build emotional resilience.
Under her leadership, MeMA-Music has spent more than a decade partnering with schools and community organizations across Chicago to bring music-based learning to youth and young adults.
Meet Our Founder – Jeanne Warsaw
A trailblazer in the music industry, Jeanne Warsaw, a Chicago native, has over 20 years of experience working with iconic artists, including Janet Jackson, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Isaac Hayes, Lenny Kravitz, and many others.
She began her career at the legendary Chicago retailer Rose Records as a buyer and quickly advanced to become a Radio Promotion Assistant for Sony Records in New York. Over the years, Jeanne held leadership roles as Executive Promotion & Marketing Director for Sony Music, RCA, Elektra/Warner Bros., and Virgin Records, and later founded her own consulting company, JW Promotions.
Jeanne’s extensive experience in the music industry gives her unique insight into the power of music as a vehicle for cultural expression and social change. After leaving the corporate music world, she founded MeMA-Music, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring and empowering individuals in underserved and under-resourced communities. Through programs that use music with powerful messages, Jeanne helps both youth and adults build literacy, deepen critical thinking, spark social awareness, and see their own potential to shape their futures. For the past 14 years, MeMA-Music has provided mentorship and safe creative spaces across Chicago—helping youth find their voice in schools, while simultaneously creating trauma-informed programming like Introspection to help veterans and adults process personal journeys and build emotional resilience through the power of music.
Our Story
MeMA-Music grew from a simple but powerful idea: that music can do more than entertain; it can teach, connect, and inspire individuals to see themselves as thinkers, creators, and contributors.
Since its founding, MeMA-Music has evolved into a trusted arts-integrated organization serving youth, young adults, and adults across Chicago. Our programs meet participants where they are—both personally and emotionally—using meaningful music as a bridge to literacy, critical thinking, social awareness, and purposeful self-expression.
Over the years, we have partnered with schools, community organizations, and specialized groups to create spaces where participants feel engaged, heard, and valued. In these spaces, music becomes a starting point for dialogue, reflection, and creativity. Participants explore how artists have used songs to reflect their times and share lived experiences, then apply those insights to their own writing, discussions, and creative work.
The name MeMA reflects both purpose and heart. It stands for Motive and Encourage Music Appreciation, and was also the nickname Jeanne Warsaw’s mother used for her grandchildren; a reminder that growth flourishes in environments rooted in encouragement, care, and belief in each person’s potential.
What began as a response to shrinking access to the arts has grown into a sustained commitment to human development. Today, MeMA-Music continues to provide consistent, high-quality programming in schools and community spaces, helping young people and adults build skills, confidence, and agency. Our programs specialize in creating supportive, trauma-informed environments where participants—including veterans and individuals navigating personal trauma—can reflect, express themselves creatively, and strengthen emotional resilience. Through music and artistic exploration, participants gain tools to better understand their own journeys and the world around them.
Through music, engagement becomes more than an activity; it becomes a pathway for participants to find their voice, honor their stories, and imagine new possibilities for the future.
Trusted by Schools, Community Organizations, and Funders
For 14 years, MeMA-Music has delivered long-term, arts-integrated residencies engaging youth and young adults across Chicago.
Sustained residencies that engage participants deeply over multiple years
Partnerships with educators and community leaders to create meaningful learning experiences
Collaboration with professional artists and creative practitioners to bring real-world expertise into programs
Supported by foundations and donors committed to arts and youth development
Our Partners
