A veteran of 36 years in public school music education, Marcia Neel has directed successful secondary music programs in Connecticut, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Nevada. She served as the Supervisor of the Secondary Music Education Program of the Clark County School District (CCSD), headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1994 through 2007. During the course of those years, she led the Secondary Music Education Program to a total class count of over 50,000 in 56 middle and 38 high school music programs and over 100,000 in Secondary Fine and Performing Arts overall taking great pride in knowing that all of the students in each of the district’s secondary schools are provided with an equal opportunity to study music.  In conjunction with the National Association of School Boards, VH1 and NAMM awarded the National Distinguished Service to Music Education Award to the CCSD Board of School Trustees in 2007.  The district employs over 500 elementary and secondary music educators.

Well-known for her commitment to program expansion and innovation, Marcia is recognized for her creative approaches to curriculum design and implementation. One of the most popular is the district’s standards-based Mariachi Program which was instituted in 2002 and is now staffed by 17 full-time, licensed Mariachi educators. Marcia is the lead author of ¡Simplemente Mariachi!, an instrumental and vocal method series for mariachi students and educators.  She has also authored and edited a number of articles and publications for MENC, the National Association for Music Education and the Music Advisory Council.

Marcia is an ardent Music Education advocate at the local, state, and national levels. She serves on the Supportmusic.com Steering Committee, the MENC National Advocacy Committee, and as a member of the Quincy Jones Musiq Consortium.  In addition, she and her husband serve as Music Ambassadors to The Ohio State University School of Music.

Elected to numerous leadership positions, Marcia has served as Western Division President of MENC; President of the Nevada Music Educators Association (two separate terms); and President of the Nevada Choral Directors Association.  She was appointed by two Nevada governors to sit on the Goals 2000 Panel and in that capacity, co-chaired the team responsible for the writing of Nevada's Content Standards in Arts Education. In 1993, The Disney Channel selected Marcia as their National Performing Arts Teacher of the Year.

Marcia is president of Music Education Consultants, Inc., a consortium of music education professionals who work with a variety of educational organizations, arts associations, and school districts to foster the growth and breadth of school-based music education programs for all children, grades PreK-16.  Among others, specialty areas include curriculum development and expansion, professional development, teacher induction programs, and the providing of conductors and adjudicators for honor ensembles and music festivals. She has taught and continues to teach graduate music courses at the Hartt School, Duquesne University, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Villanova University and VanderCook College of Music.