Colin Kendrick

Colin Kendrick is the founder of two non-profit organizations that provide services to Austin’s internationally recognized local musicians. Founded in 2001, the Austin Music Foundation (AMF) has raised and invested more than $1,500,000 into business education for Austin’s working musicians. Founded in 2013, Black Fret has provided over $1,500,000 to exceptional Austin musicians to enable them in their efforts to create and perform new music.
 

As of 2018 Black Fret Artists have used those funds to write and record over four hundred new songs and perform more than a thousand times. Colin is a member of the 2019 class of the ALL ATX Music Leadership Program and is on the board of The House of Songs.
 

Colin currently works for New York Life as a personal financial advisor. His previous work experience includes a decade as a strategist for Dell, several years in business development for Apple and SunPower, and as an executive officer of a start-up in the Austin Technology Incubator. Prior to that, Colin was a consultant for high net-worth individuals at Price Waterhouse. His work there included portfolio management, tax compliance and philanthropic planning for individuals and family foundations.
 

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.