Created by Amy K Bormet in 2011, Washington Women in Jazz hosts an annual festival (WWJF) each March to celebrate the women of the DC jazz community. Bormet and her colleagues develop, promote and lead a wide array of concerts, jam sessions, lectures, panels, discussions, and masterclasses. A highlight of the festival is the Young Artist Showcase, where high school and college women are given a platform to perform and connect with professional jazz artists. Events take place across the DC region/area, and attract diverse audiences from every quadrant. The festival includes widely recognized jazz musicians such as Geri Allen and Ingrid Jensen, but focuses on strengthening the unique DC jazz community and creating solidarity with the women who call DC home. Finally, as a result of the WWJF, DC audiences are delighted by incredible performances, young talent is encouraged, and new collaborations are formed.is a natural to the role of founder/director of the WWJF, as she is a graduate of DC Duke Ellington School of the Arts, and received her master degree in Jazz Studies at Howard University. She is a mentor and educator to young musicians with DC Legend Davey Yarborough at the Washington Jazz Arts Institute. Amy is an alumni of the Kennedy Center's Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program. She participated in the inaugural Mary Lou Williams erging Artist Workshop at the Kennedy Center in 2010, working closely with Joanne Brackeen, Terri Lyne Carrington and the late Dr. Billy Taylor. Her quintet, Striking, was featured in the 2012 Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center.