Alan Brown is a leading researcher and management consultant in the nonprofit arts industry. His work focuses on understanding consumer demand for cultural experiences and helping cultural institutions, foundations and agencies see new opportunities, make informed decisions and respond to changing conditions. His studies have introduced new vocabulary to the lexicon of cultural participation and propelled the field towards a clearer view of the rapidly changing cultural landscape.

Cate is a member of the Strategy & Branding team at LaPlaca Cohen, where she works with cultural clients to develop creative marketing plans, brand identities, and audience outreach tactics. A magazine editor before she transitioned into the the cultural sector, Cate has worked in the volunteer management, audience research, and education departments at a variety of organizations, including historic houses, the Exploratorium, the New York Transit Museum, and the Bay Area Discovery Museum. She has a B.A. in history and East Asian studies from Oberlin College and an M.A. in museum studies from New York University.

Rebecca Ratzkin joined WolfBrown’s San Francisco office in 2008, bringing her unique outlook on arts and culture as it relates to economic and community development. Her interests and skills focus on bridging theory with practical and achievable solutions and seeing opportunity in the midst of the deepest challenges. With a background in arts administration and urban planning, Rebecca has applied her skills and experience in research design, data collection administration, research training, and project management to a variety of research and planning projects. Her clients have ranged from small culturally specific and community-based arts groups to large institutions and consortiums, foundations and government agencies. Recently, she has delved into the projects that investigate the impacts of arts experiences on individual audience members, customer segmentation (analysis of audience behaviors, attitudes and preferences), and audience engagement patterns. Her recent projects include working with Theatre Bay Area on a national intrinsic impact pilot study (liaising with 18 theaters in six cities), developing a new customer model for jazz audiences with a national consortium of jazz presenters (liaising with 20 jazz presenters), evaluating the California Community Foundation’s arts program (liaising with 28 grantees) and measuring patterns of cultural engagement in Philadelphia and Ontario – all of which resulted in significant research reports which she co-authored.

Aaron Trent joined Slover Linett as a research assistant in August 2010. His work spans Slover Linett’s performing arts, museum, and higher education practices, with a special emphasis on ethnographic research methods. He has contributed to studies of audience engagement for the Minnesota Orchestra, The Field Museum, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and other clients. Aaron has a B.A. in anthropology from the University of Chicago.