Meet Paola Mondragon | Director of Artist Relations & Events

We had the good fortune of connecting with Paola Mondragon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Paola, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
The Playing for change foundation has a huge impact all over the world. It grew out of a common belief that music has the power to connect people regardless of their differences. We are creating positive change through music and arts education impacting the lives of thousands of kids all over the world.

Our work engages marginalized youth in diverse communities around the world, primarily located in low and lower-middle income countries. These communities are home to great cultural wealth, which we use to create educational and social opportunities. Our work also extends beyond music and arts education as we support essential needs for the communities we serve by providing emergency supplies, medical care or humanitarian support.

We currently operate 17 music programs in 13 countries. We employ more than 200 staff, teachers, and community leaders locally across program locations, including: Mali, Morocco, Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica and Argentina.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My area is Artists Relations and Events. My job is to get big name and up and coming artists/brands involved in what we do, it can be an event, a campaign or a simple shout out. I feel extremely proud of the work that we do, which is allowing thousands of kids around the world to have access to music and arts education.

I studied singing and music business so I understand the value of having music and art education in your life. The fact that we are able to give it to so many people for free is absolutely amazing, It just really inspires you every day to do your job even better. Having this job and hearing some of the stories of the students in our programs constantly reminds me of how lucky we are and how much we take for granted every day, it is a very humbling and gratifying work.

I’m very excited to see what’s in store for us in the years to come and for some special projects we’ve been working on to be released later this year!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’ve had several mentors throughout the years, the first ones obviously being my parents, they are extremely supportive and know exactly how to cheer me up when I get stressed or nervous about something. They believed in me and let me pursue studying a career that is not very common or reliable.

My teacher back in Mexico, Azalea Esperon, she got me into a lot of the artists I work with now and showed me many of my favorite photographers, till this day we are still in touch and She is absolutely amazing.

Another one would be Don Grierson, an absolute music industry legend that took me under his wing, taught me so much and introduced me to many of the incredible people I work with now.

Robert Nathan, he helped me numerous times very late at night to go over contracts and other music law related issues that needed immediate attention. so basically saved my ass multiple times.

My friend Steve Baltin is an absolute rockstar, he is the best at giving advice, connecting me with people and basically knows how to get things done. I’m forever grateful for all the help he has given me and for all the amazing people I’ve met through him.

Website: www.playingforchange.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paomond/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paola-mondragon-762058117

Image Credits
Playing For Change Foundation