Heather Clara Young has worked in the field of arts management for over twenty-five years. Her experience includes leadership roles with a variety of arts and heritage service organizations, theatre and dance producing companies, galleries and museums, facilities, festivals and community organizations, in both professional and volunteer capacities. Before founding Young Associates in 1993, Heather had served as General Manager for both Nightwood Theatre and the Fringe of Toronto Festival.

As the Principal of Young Associates, Heather has provided bookkeeping and consulting services to dozens of organizations, and delivered professional workshops, training and seminars on topics ranging from budgeting to sales tax, to setting prices, to reading financial statements. She has completed business and strategic planning assignments for an array of arts organizations in Toronto and across Southern Ontario, frequently in partnership with First Stage.

For 15 years, Heather has taught accounting and financial management to diploma and continuing education students in Humber College’s Arts Administration programs, and Humber’s Fundraising and Volunteer Management Program. She was a 2004 recipient of Humber College’s Continuing Education Award of Excellence for Outstanding Academic Contribution. In 2010, she was appointed to teach finance for the University of Toronto’s Specialist Program in Arts Management In 2012, Heather was awarded the Sandy Tulloch award for Innovation in Arts and Culture by Theatre Ontario. Heather is also a member of Arts Consultants Canada.

Finance for the Arts in Canada, published by Heather in 2005, is a unique self-study guide, reference source and textbook for the accounting and finance functions in cultural organizations. Used by numerous arts managers and various post-secondary institutions across Canada, it has been praised for its clear and straightforward approach to building excellence in financial skills.

Heather holds an honours BA in English and French from the University of Western Ontario, and a certificate in Finance and Accounting from Ryerson University.

A bit more about Heather…

Artistic endeavours: For fun, Heather sings in a community choir, the Upper Canada Choristers, and might just take her Grade 9 exam in voice from the Royal Conservatory of Music. She performs the odd solo recital at a seniors residence and is also currently pretty regular at the Corktown Uke (Ukelele) jam.

De-stressing after a long day: Heather has studied tai chi for many years, including mainly the empty handed, but also the sword and quarterstaff forms, making her perhaps the best-armed bookkeeper in Toronto.

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