ABOUT YELENA WELLS
Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan Yelena Wells immigrated to the United States with her family in 1991. As an accomplished young pianist, Yelena received a full-tuition Honors Scholarship from Grand Valley State University to pursue Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance degree. Yelena went on to Western Michigan University where she served as a graduate class piano teaching assistant, receiving her Master of Music in Piano Performance degree. Yelena earned the WMU Graduate Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2005.
Yelena received Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Pedagogy degree from Michigan State University where she served as a teaching assistant. Yelena’s leadership and administrative roles included working with the MSU Preparatory Program where she developed curriculum, delegated tasks, and supervised instruction by undergraduate students. She conceived, developed, and implemented evaluation procedures for parents, intern teachers, and supervisors, and was responsible for all marketing, advertising, and recruitment.
Yelena studied with Aviram Reichert and Helen Marlais (GVSU, 2003), Silvia Roederer (WMU, 2005) Pauline Martin and George Vatchnadze (MSU 2009).
Teaching Career
Yelena’s teaching career is centered at Grand Rapids Community College where she served on the music faculty from 2002 through 2019. Yelena taught all levels of applied private piano lessons, group piano classes, early Music History, and Music Appreciation classes. Yelena improved instructional practices and expanded departmental course offerings to online learning platforms. Yelena was the first faculty to collaborate with the Middle College program working with high school dual enrollment students off campus. She pioneered projects such as the Annual Music Audition Workshop collaborating with local area high school music teachers, students and professionals.
As a leader, Yelena served as the sole administrator of the GRCC Community Music school “Arts Outreach” overseeing program offerings, enrollment, scheduling, payroll, and more. Through this experience, Yelena learned the value of outreach, networking, and advertising. She pursued GRCC website development training to create and maintain the school’s website and online presence, and collaborated with the GRCC Communications departments on digital news and print marketing, serving as the spokeswoman in publicity and community relations.
In the 2019-2020 season, Yelena served as an interim piano faculty at Hope College in Holland, MI, teaching applied and class piano. At the onset of Covid, she converted class piano courses to digital formats and assisted in all involved technology processes within the piano department including communication and evaluation. Yelena serves on the piano faculty at Calvin University in Michigan.
MTNA, MMTA, PTFGR
Yelena joined MTNA in 2002 as a collegiate member and has been actively involved at both state and local organizations ever since. She has served as President, Vice President, Historian, and Marketing Chair of the Piano Teachers’ Forum of Grand Rapids local association. At the state level, Yelena is responsible for the Michigan Music Teachers Association website revision and maintenance, social media advertising, and MailChimp email communications. She was instrumental in implementing technology processes and overseeing administrative tasks during the 2020 Online State Conference and implementing the MMTA-sponsored webinar series in early 2021. Yelena has supervised and directed summer graduate MSU/MMTA student internships in 2021 and 2022. She serves as the chair of the Communications Committee collaborating with multiple Executive and Administrative Board of Directors members.
Yelena is the recipient of the League for Innovation John & Suanne Roueche Excellence Award, Grand Rapids Community College Excellence in Education Faculty Award, Teacher of the Year from the Piano Teacher’s Forum of Grand Rapids, and most recently, the Distinguished Service Award from Michigan Music Teachers Association.
She is a frequent adjudicator for Michigan’s state and local piano competitions such as the Michigan Music Teachers Association Student Achievement Testing, National Guild of Piano Teachers, and Federation of Music Clubs.
Yelena has a passion for helping individuals, businesses and organizations develop and grow their online visibility. She has presented on marketing topics at the local, state, and national levels.
Business Leader & Marketing Strategist
As a business leader, Yelena serves on the board of Grand Rapids Business Breakfast advocating professional development and business networking. Her interests include nonprofit fundraising and development. She has led fundraising efforts for local non-profits including Samuel Omogo Foundation, Henna Crowns of Courage, Ama International, Forest Hills Chinese Immersion program among others. Yelena volunteers as a marketing mentor at GROW (Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women), an organization dedicated to providing resources for women entrepreneurs. Yelena understands the value of networking in building relationships, bringing awareness, and developing growth. She has been a member of the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, Wyoming/Kentwood Chamber of Commerce, Business Networking International, and Woman’s Life Insurance Society.
Yelena joined Elite One Media in 2015 as Marketing Strategist and Vice President of Business Development where she oversees the company and client web design, social media, and SEO engagement. She has a passion for helping business professionals develop and grow their marketing strategies. Through Elite One Media, she offers a wide range of internet marketing services including web design, social media marketing, Google Street View virtual tours, and Search Engine Optimization. The marketing strategies she implements keep businesses competitive, credible, and connected in the digital world.
Elite One Media is proud to be an MTNA Discount Partner and provides current members a discounted rate on all online marketing services.
She has participated in hundreds of networking events and frequently facilitates of presentations and workshops on marketing topics. She enjoys meeting new people, sharing her expertise and growing as a business professional.
Yelena resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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