In 1997 Colin wrote a business plan for what became the Austin Music Foundation (AMF). He served as the founding Executive Director of that organization between 2001 and 2003 and spent over a decade leading and serving on its board of directors. Under his guidance, AMF raised and invested more than $1,500,000 into business education for Austin’s working musicians. His previous professional experience includes working for New York Life and Pricewaterhouse as a personal financial advisor offering portfolio management, tax compliance, and philanthropic planning for individuals and family foundations. He also spent more than a decade as a strategist for Dell, Apple and SunPower and served several years as an executive officer of a start-up in the Austin Technology Incubator.
Colin grew up in Austin and spent his formative years frequenting Liberty Lunch, the Continental Club, Black Cat, Broken Spoke, Hole In The Wall and all the finest music back-alleys and warrens he could find. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree with a dual concentration in finance and accounting and a Bachelor of Science degree in radio, television, and film with a concentration in audio engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. During his undergraduate studies, Colin worked two seasons at KLRU public television as an audio intern for the award winning, nationally televised music program Austin City Limits. His experiences there and his graduate studies on sustainable funding for non-profits served as the catalyst for the concepts underlying the Austin Music Foundation and Black Fret.
