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Al Heartley


Al Heartley (he/him/his)is a passionate and mission-driven consultant based in Atlanta, GA.A co-founder and partner at Evolution Management Consultants, Al studies arts organizations with intention and specificity to solve today’s most challenging problems. He was previously a Co-Founder and Principal at ALJP Consulting, a search and strategic planning firm working with arts organizations across the country. He co-founded the firm out of a call to bring equity and inclusion to hiring and planning. Clients he worked with at ALJP included San Diego Repertory Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Pasadena Playhouse, Penumbra Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Pasadena Playhouse, East West Players, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Theatre Bay Area, American Repertory Theater, Baltimore Center Stage, Building for the Arts, Alabama School of Fine Arts, the New Jersey Arts and Culture Administrators of Color, and New York Theatre Workshop. Al is a graduate of Yale School of Drama with an MFA in Theater Management. Prior to his life as a consultant, Al was the managing director of the Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts at Northwestern University where he led the organization through the first year of the pandemic and produced programming that included virtual and hybrid offerings. He has worked for various regional theaters across the country including the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Yale Repertory Theatre, The Guthrie Theater, Cleveland Play House, and Steppenwolf Theatre Company. He currently teaches at Northwestern where he advises students in the Master of Science in Leadership for the Creative Enterprises and in Florida State’s MFA in Theater Management program. He has taught or lectured or spoken at Yale, Michigan, Syracuse, Ohio University, and the University of Buffalo.

MSLCE Course: (In)Equity in Arts and Entertainment: History + Practice