The Marnie Knaak Music & Resilience Foundation (MKMRF) is Central Texas’s first trauma-informed music education and resilience program. We provide children and families with access to healing through music — using evidence-based practices that promote emotional regulation, resilience, and connection.

Founded in 2025 by guitarist Will Knaak, veteran entrepreneur Liz Joshua, and a dedicated board, the foundation honors the legacy of Marnie Knaak, who believed music could open doors of healing for all.

🎶 Our Mission: To give every child the chance to heal, connect, and thrive through music.
🔑 Our Approach: Trauma-informed teaching, community workshops, family resilience programs, and access to instruments.
💛 Our Vision: A future where no child’s potential is silenced by trauma.

Advocacy & Stories

Man relaxing on a gray sofa with eyes closed, wearing headphones, in a modern home setting.
“Music therapy has shown promise … in healing trauma and building resilience while decreasing anxiety.”
— APA

Research / Evidence Supporting the Link

A young man playing guitar and singing to a woman in a classroom setting, with several classmates sitting at desks watching and smiling.

  • Emotional resilience & well-being: A 2025 article reports that music therapy is effective at enhancing emotional resilience, improving well-being, and aiding in personal development. PMC

  • Trauma recovery: The 2024 Frontiers study (above) demonstrates that music therapy interventions help repair psychological trauma in bereaved families. Frontiers

  • Mechanisms / Brain & Emotion: An article from Ohio University explains that music therapy “harnesses the power of music to stimulate various regions of the brain, facilitating emotional, cognitive, and physical healing.” Ohio University

  • Youth & trauma scholarship: A paper in Frontiers in Psychology discusses how music therapy helps bypass limited cognitive processing (i.e. when trauma overwhelms verbal narrative), offering a “strengths-based orientation” for youth. Frontiers

  • Coping & personality: Another study examines how individuals use music to cope and how personality traits interact with that coping. PMC

  • The Implementation of Trauma-Informed Practices In Music Education

“Music therapy harnesses the power of music to stimulate various regions of the brain, facilitating emotional, cognitive, and physical healing.”
— Ohio University, What Makes Music Therapy Effective

Will Knaak, Co-Founder & Vice President

“Music gave me words when I couldn’t find my own, and melodies that carried me when I couldn’t carry myself.”

A musician playing an electric guitar on stage during a concert with a large audience in the background.

Recent News

People swimming and relaxing at a designated swimming area near a body of water, with trees and a cloudy sky in the background.
Blue background with white and blue circular logo containing the letters 'DT'
Comparison of two women, one with long brown hair wearing a purple top, and the other with blonde hair in a blue strapless dress.