San Francisco Bay Area percussionist and art therapist Jeni Swerdlow, MA-ATR is a dynamic and engaging facilitator, trainer, presenter, and performer. Founding DRUMMM® Rhythmic Events in 2000, her interactive, “hands-on” group drumming programs have engaged many thousands of participants at a variety of events in the U.S. and abroad. Swerdlow is best known for her innovative strategies and playful attitude. Clients include Hewlett-Packard, eBay, Genentech, Oprah Winfrey, GlaxoSmithKline and Kaiser-Permanente, as well as several prominent tech companies, universities, conferences, festivals, museums and more.
Swerdlow is a REMO-Endorsed Drum Circle Facilitator, trained HealthRHYTHMS and Village Music Circles facilitator, and lifelong student of West African drumming and world percussion. She is a Registered Art Therapist (A.T.R.) with over 20 years of professional facilitation experience. She holds an M.A. in Art Therapy from the University of Illinois Chicago and a B.A. in Visual Arts and Psychology (Magna Cum Laude) from University of California San Diego.
Swerdlow has received numerous grants for her DRUMMM® programs throughout the U.S. She is a professional member of the Drum Circle Facilitators Guild, as well as the Global Network of Expressive Arts Facilitators. Swerdlow is on the faculty of Women Drummers International, whose mission is to empower women and girls through drumming. In 2008, Swerdlow co-founded the Northern California Drum Circle Collective, an association for drum circle facilitators practicing in the Bay Area.
As a percussionist, Swerdlow has performed with such renowned artists as Mickey Hart and Giovanni Hidalgo of the Global Drum Project, Chicago’s Redmoon Theater and the Bay Area’s favorite samba marching band Loyd Family Players. She has been featured in the Amazon Prime series “Betas” with Ed Begley Jr., The Economist, Washington Post and many other news sources.
