Ruth came to Nashville with her husband, John, the summer of 2011. After living in Santa Cruz California for 15 years, John and Ruth were ready for a change and when the opportunity presented itself they packed up and moved to Music City so John could write songs full time. Ruth had a career in Southern California doing commercial escrow and put all she had learned to work in Nashville obtaining and managing rental properties. John and Ruth were a perfect balance. She was the detail person while John saw the big picture.

Being on the board of the John Cirillo Songwriting Scholarship foundation was a huge honor for Ruth. The love and support from the Nashville community has been overwhelming for Ruth and has reinforced for her that Nashville is right where she needs to be. When she learned about the Scholarship program, she was quick to embrace their mission to carry on John’s passion of helping young writers on their journey through Music City.

Since releasing her debut EP Grace in 2018 (featuring the John Cirillo and Sarah Spencer co-write, Outrun), Dani Jack has been the opener in a national stadium tour, released two singles, and created three music videos. Dani feels so lucky that she was able to write so many of her favorite songs with John and to be able to call him a friend. When she asked to be in the board to continue his legacy of helping new songwriters find their footing, “it was a no-brainer.” She has plans to release an acoustic EP in 2025 consisting entirely of John Cirillo cowrites. “It’s too hard to pick just one song to release. The songs we wrote together are incredibly special, and I can’t wait to see the special songs that come from this scholarship!”

Music has always been a big part of Sam’s life, but he didn’t discover that he wanted to pursue music professionally until writing his first song in college. Since that very first song, Sam has had a one-track mind; to make music he loves with the people he loves. That was Sam and John in a nutshell.

“We met at a writer’s round in 2012 and booked our first co-write a week later. Over the course of hundreds of songwriting sessions, he became so much more than a co-writer to me - he was one of my best friends. He helped me figure out who I am as an artist and who I wanted to be as a man. He also made me feel like the music we were making together was important, and that I was important - all the while not taking himself or anything else too seriously. He was that same guiding light to so many others. I feel very lucky that I get to carry the music we made together onward, and that I get to be a part of continuing his legacy of mentorship and generosity through the John Cirillo Songwriting Scholarship.”

Pam Simmons has been involved with music all her life and minored in flute performance. She was very active with the Georgia Music Industry Association and ran the Atlanta chapter of NSAI before moving to Nashville in 2000. Pam has been a Realtor and house flipper for 23 years. In her free time she is a fiber artist, plays in an orchestra and is re-learning piano. Pam says, “I own three guitars but play none!”

Scott Barrier is a professional commercial songwriter from Nashville, TN. He has had over 90 of his songs recorded by artists, including #1 country songs Squirrel Train, recorded by artist Pam Hopkins, All The Ways, recorded by artist Andy Penkow, Rides You Want To Remember, recorded by artist Larry Cann, and Give Me That, recorded by artist Lily Grace. The song Vinyl Revival, which he co-wrote, was performed by the former The Voice contestants Worth The Wait, on the Grand Ole Opry. Scott has had songs in films and tv shows, including “The Gift Of Christmas”, feature in the movie “Shoelaces For Christmas”, “The Gift Of Christmas” featured in the movie “The Santa Box”, and “Merry Christmas With You” featured on the prime time tv show Moody’s Christmas on Fox. Scott writes with and mentors up and coming artists and songwriters, and continues to write with other professional songwriters.

Ally DeVore works in communications and has a background in content creation, media, and marketing management. Passionate about storytelling, she brings this enthusiasm to her role on the board of the John Cirillo Songwriting Scholarship. She is excited to support and empower emerging songwriters through this program.

Daniel Reifsnyder has worn many hats over the years - Grammy nominated songwriter, voice and piano coach, noted blogger and actor. It all began at the age of 3, when he first started taking piano lessons. By age 6, he was regularly writing songs and by age 10 he became one of the youngest published songwriters in the world, and one of the youngest members of ASCAP. He has had songs appear in movies (“Lantern’s Lane”), on the BBC (“Popularity Papers”), had songs garner multiple awards and chart on iTunes (“The Wrong Side” Alayna Carroll, #30 in UK iTunes), Texas radio charts (“Woman Up”, Tori Martin #22), as well as dozens of cuts with independent artists. Beginning in late 2022, Dan has also been releasing music with his studio project “A History of Ghosts”. He resides in Nashville with his wife and rescue animals.

John was one of Dan‘s very first co-writers when he first moved to town. They very quickly became a regular writing team and wrote hundreds of songs over a decade of friendship. John and Dan had many conversations over the years about helping artists and writers find their place in an increasingly difficult industry. With John‘s passing, Dan realized a huge hole would be left and did not want to see John’s good works and vision disappear, and in one of their last conversations before he passed, Dan promised John he would pick up the torch and carry on the legacy. The John Cirilllo Songwriting Scholarship is the result.

Craig Lackey was a friend and cowriter of John Cirillo’s. He always admired how John had the heart of a mentor and how John helped so many up and comers in the Nashville community. Craig was thrilled to be asked to be vice president of the John Cirillo Songwriting Scholarship. Craig is a Nashville-based songwriter with over 50 cuts from signed and indie artists and a dozen sync placements in film and TV. He writes with many hit writers including Tim James (Lee Brice, Trace Adkins), Steve Williams (George Strait, Craig Morgan) and Rivers Rutherford (Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney). Craig wrote the title track with Elles Bailey’s for her current album “Shining In The Half Light” which charted at #1 Blues, #2 Americana, #4 Indie, and #42 Overall Album on the UK charts. Alongside his songwriting success, Craig produces remarkable music experiences in Nashville, curating concerts and events that showcase talented artists and writers. These include a neighborhood concert series held in East Nashville, called Lackeypalooza, a wine/food/song pairing evening called WineSong, and other concert events at local venues like The Green Light, City Winery, and The Urban Cowboy Parlor.