Daniel Sheehy is a ethnomusicologist/folklorist.
Sheehy was recruited by Bess Lomax Hawes in 1974 to conduct field research among Mexican American musicians in California for the Smithsonian's Folklife Festival. He joined the National Endowment for the Arts in 1978, working alongside Lomax Hawes, who became his longtime mentor. He was instrumental in developing and sustaining the infrastructure of the folk and traditional arts field and served as director of folk and traditional arts at the NEA from 1992 to 2000.
In 2000, Sheehy became director and curator of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. He is currently serves as Director of Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
