About Us

Thinking in Music, Inc. is an Arizona based non-profit organization whose goal is to develop and promote affordable offerings that help develop thoughtful minds.  Several years ago we began development of Arts for Critical Thinking® (ACT), using music and visual arts to expand important mental skills needed for academic, personal, and social development.

Arts for Critical Thinking is dedicated to
Edith Morse Milender
whose vision gave life to this project

Sumner N. Milender

Chairman, Thinking in Music, Inc.

Thinking in Music, Inc. was founded by Sumner Milender, a retired businessman and graduate of Harvard College and Phillips Academy in Andover, MA. Mr. Milender has a lifelong interest in music and education. At age 65, he was appointed an Adjunct in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where he worked with Project Zero and Professor Jessica Davis. Upon retirement to Tucson, Arizona, Mr. Milender was inspired to use music and art as the engines of a new program for elementary age children. The result was the formation of Thinking in Music, Inc. and Arts for Critical Thinking. You can learn more about ACT’s founding in “What prompted the creation of ACT”.

Martin F. Gardiner, Ph.D.

Program Developer and Consultant

The original lessons and current ACTivities were created and written by Dr. Martin F. Gardiner of the Center for the Study of Human Development at Brown University in Providence RI and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston MA. Dr. Gardiner was educated at Columbia University (physics), Stanford University (electrical engineering), and the University of California, Los Angeles (brain research). His musical training includes work at these universities as well as at the Kodaly Institute in Keskemedt, Hungary. Dr. Gardiner studies connections between musical and visual arts learning and broader academic, personal, and social learning. He was lead author of an article, published in the international science journal Nature, showing the impact of musical and visual arts training on broader learning. Please see our research page for a list of his work.

Connie Goebel

Executive Director, Thinking in Music, Inc.

Connie Goebel joined Thinking in Music, Inc. in 2008 to help Sumner Milender develop the ACT program. Current focus includes developing marketing strategies and tactics to identify, prioritize and target distinct youth and adult segments. She holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an Executive MBA from the University of New Haven. Connie brings over 30 years of experience in marketing, sales and strategic planning in the Communications, Education, and High Tech Industries.