Dr. Giovanna Cruz became Head of Professional Development at MusicFirst on September 15, 2025. With a career spanning nearly two decades, her professional experience includes orchestral performance, lecturer positions at Wartburg College and Central College in Iowa, public school teaching in the Austin Independent School District in Austin,TX and progressive leadership positions at MakeMusic, Inc, where she spent the previous 10.5 years of her career. She holds Master and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Cello Performance from the University of Iowa and a Bachelor of Education from the Universidad Metropolitana in her native Caracas, Venezuela. Giovanna is an author, educator, and public speaker and has been featured in the School Band and Orchestra Magazine (SBO), the Music Ed Mentor Podcast, and the Profiles in Teaching with Technology podcast by Dr. Jim Frankel. Giovanna has also served on the board of TI:ME. Dr. Cruz carries the motto of her primary and secondary school in Venezuela "No hay cultura sin cultura musical" and advocates for music education for all.