Al Heartley (he/him) is a 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. His partners have included the Lark Play Development Center, Marin Theatre Company, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Penumbra Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Pasadena Playhouse, East West Players, and New York Theatre Workshop. Prior to his life as a consultant, Al was the managing director of the Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts at Northwestern University. He is a graduate of Yale School of Drama and has worked for various regional theatres across the country including the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Yale Repertory Theatre, the Guthrie Theater, Cleveland Play House, and Steppenwolf Theatre Company. He has taught or lectured at Northwestern, Florida State, Yale, Michigan, Syracuse, the Commercial Theater Institute, the National Theater Institute, and Shenandoah University.