Heather joined Americans for the Arts in September 2019 as the Leadership Alliances Coordinator. Over her four+ years on the Leadership Alliances team—moving up from Coordinator to Senior Coordinator and then to Manager—she supported the department’s relationship-building programs such as the National Arts Awards, National Arts Policy Roundtable and other key cultivation events.

Heather's outreach with artists grew exponentially during the pandemic, especially through the creation of our Artist Think Tank. Formed during the pandemic shut down as a place for community and collective action, the Artist Think Tank was envisioned as a cross-discipline forum where artists could gather virtually to discuss the ways in which the creative sector might help mediate change and navigate the challenges of the pandemic. Throughout the pandemic’s darkest days, Heather coordinated the logistics for 16 topic-specific gatherings as well as continuing to nurture a growing list of artists and creative workers which has reached nearly 600 members. She also assisted in many virtual programs across the organization with logistical support, moderating skills, and coordinating artist engagement.  

As part of her team’s commitment to “artists as workers,” Heather helped to advocate for compensation for artists, inside as well as outside of the organization, particularly artists in the disability community—an issue which permeated her own work and that of the organization. These two areas came to the forefront in January 2024 when she embraced her new role as Artist Engagement and Accessibility Policy Manager on the Local Arts Engagement team.  

Originally from Long Island, NY, Heather earned a Master of Science in Performing Arts Leadership and Management from Shenandoah University, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Montclair State University. She is well versed in fundraising, collaborative leadership in the arts, board management and governance, arts marketing, and institutional planning. Heather also studied danceaturgy, dance history, ethnochoreology, choreography, dance pedagogy, psychological foundations of personality and decision making, and American Sign Language.  

Prior to joining Americans for the Arts, Heather worked as the Development Manager for The Ellington Fund, the fundraising arm of Duke Ellington School of the Arts—Washington DC’s public  high school for the arts—where she functioned as project manager for special events, developed digital and print fundraising materials, facilitated direct mail campaigns, stewarded donor relationships, and managed their donor database.