Creating Change Arts Trustee Learning Cohort | New Jersey Theatre Alliance

The Creating Change Trustee Learning Cohort supports board members of New Jersey arts organizations who want to strengthen their leadership through an explicit commitment to anti-oppression and anti-racism. Offered through the Creating Change Network, a program of New Jersey Theatre Alliance in partnership with ArtPride New Jersey, the program is guided by Dr. Brea Heidelberg, a nationally recognized educator whose work focuses on equity, organizational culture, human resources, and the systems that shape how arts institutions function. Participants explore how board practices can either reinforce or disrupt oppressive structures and gain tools to support arts organizations that are accountable, community-centered, and grounded in justice.

Across four interactive virtual sessions, held on Zoom, trustees will examine their roles through an equity lens. The curriculum invites participants to understand how power operates within boards, how internal policies and financial decisions reflect institutional values, and how individual trustees can influence meaningful and sustained change related to diversity, equity, access, and inclusion.

Executive leaders who work closely with their boards may also find the program valuable, and are welcome to accompany their board representatives to the first session at no cost.

Register here for the Creating Change Arts Trustee Learning Cohort

Program Arc:

Participants are required to attend all four sessions to complete the series.

Session 1 – March 4, 9:00-11:00 am
The role of a board and the role of an individual trustee, with attention to how equity and access must inform responsible board leadership and decision-making. Executive leaders are welcome to accompany board members to this session!

Session 2 – March 11, 9:00-11:00 am
The importance of HR and internal policy, with an emphasis on how policies can disrupt harmful norms, support staff wellbeing, and create consistent and equitable organizational practices.

Session 3 – March 18, 9:00-11:00 am
Values-aligned budgeting and fundraising that center equity. Participants explore how financial choices can challenge systemic inequities and how boards can support resource development that reflects organizational commitments.

Session 4 – March 25, 9:00-11:00 am
Wrap up, goal setting, and action planning that help participants identify concrete steps for advancing anti-oppressive and anti-racist governance within their own organizations.

Program Cost:

Due to the loss of federal funding, the program carries a modest participation fee. The full four-session cohort costs $150 per person, or $300 total for up to three representatives from the same arts organization.

Who Should Participate:

This program is designed for board members from arts organizations of any size or discipline who want to serve with greater confidence, clarity, and purpose through an equity-centered approach. The cohort is created for those committed to examining power, shifting harmful structures, and supporting arts organizations that reflect and serve their communities. We have found great benefit in multiple trustees from the same organization going through the program together. This both allows for partnered processing and action, and ensures that the onus of this work is not left to one board representative.

Executive leaders who work closely with their boards may also find the program valuable, and are welcome to accompany their board representatives to the first session at no cost.

Facilitator

Dr. Brea Heidelberg

Brea M. Heidelberg (she/her) is an organizational management consultant, educator, and researcher. She is a Professor of Arts Management in the Department of Arts & Entertainment Enterprise at Drexel University where her research and practical work focus on psychological safety in organizations. Dr. Heidelberg’s ongoing research interests include human resources theory and practice and the intellectual history and professionalization of the field of arts management. Her most recent publication is Human Resources in the Arts (Routledge, 2025).

Her consulting work helps organizations operate efficiently, equitably, and humanely. This includes supporting organizations in executive searches, employee and board member recruitment and retention, stakeholder engagement and empowerment, organizational assessments and evaluations, internal policy development, and workshop facilitation. She has also helped several granting institutions at the local, state, and federal levels reimagine their processes to be more equitable and inclusive. Dr. Heidelberg has had a wide range of professional experiences that include time as a dancer and choreographer, positions in community engagement and programming at both visual and performing arts organizations, and work in federal and state-level government agencies.

Dr. Heidelberg earned her MS in Human Resource Development from Villanova University and her doctorate in Arts Administration, Education, and Policy from The Ohio State University. She thoroughly enjoys office supplies, graphic novels, and playing video games with her boys: Beau & Theo.

Testimonials from Past Participants

“Each session was incredibly valuable in its own way. Personally, I also felt myself evolve quite a bit as they went on, and plan to share some ideas with fellow board members.”

“It was great to hear from so many arts professionals and board members who know the challenges that I, and my organization, face on a daily basis.”

“Presenters were EXCELLENT. The format worked well, with frequent opportunities to share and listen.”

“It deepened my understanding of how to engage a very diverse set of stakeholders, all interconnected in achieving my organization’s mission.”

“This is probably the best diversity training program I’ve attended!!”

“You will learn new perspectives as well as tactics for leading a more inclusive organization – from both instructors and peers.”

“This is a comfortable space to discuss uncomfortable issues and an excellent way to connect personally with other arts organizations around the state.”

“I’ve been studying race, racism, bigotry, and hate since high school…Still, with all I have read, reported on, learned through interviews with those impacted, and witnessed, this series of seminars was enlightening in a whole new way. Although I was aware of much of what was presented, the series gave me the opportunity to dive much deeper into DEI from the vantage point of effecting change from within an organization. Thank you for the opportunity to take part.”

About the Creating Change Network

The Creating Change Network is a program of New Jersey Theatre Alliance in partnership with ArtPride New Jersey, with a mission to build a more equitable, just, accessible, and anti-racist arts community in New Jersey.

Guided by a steering committee of arts professionals and social justice leaders, the Creating Change Network offers ongoing opportunities for learning and collaboration to move the arts sector forward. The Creating Change Network is committed to the long-term endeavor of shifting culture, empowering leaders, sharing strategies, ensuring accountability, and sustaining hope so that individuals and organizations can progress in this work.

The activities of the Creating Change network are supported by the Grunin Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.