2026 Cross-Exposure Series

by Milena Deleva

AAAE is excited to announce our Cross-Exposure Series, presented by the AAAE Mentorship Program group! Please see the details for each event listed below.

This series and our Mentorship Program is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.

What the Numbers Are Really Telling You: Financial Planning & Analysis in the Arts

February 5, 2026 | 12:00pm EST

This event is FREE for AAAE Members and $10 for non-members.

This session introduces Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) as a strategic, decision-support tool for arts and cultural organizations. Participants will explore core FP&A practices through the lens of mission-driven work. Emphasis is placed on interpreting financial information as insight rather than compliance, and on using financial analysis to inform artistic planning, resource allocation, and organizational sustainability while remaining grounded in mission and values.

Designing Sustainable Revenue: Revenue Management in the Arts

March 5, 2026 | 12:00 pm EST

This event is FREE for AAAE Members and $10 for non-members.

Building on the financial planning concepts introduced in Session One, this session focuses on revenue management as an intentional and integrated approach to generating and sustaining income in arts and cultural organizations. Participants will examine earned, contributed, and ancillary revenue streams, along with strategies related to pricing, capacity and yield, and product mix. The session highlights how revenue decisions shape financial forecasts and long-term sustainability, and how revenue strategy can support both financial resilience and mission fulfillment.

While attendance at Session One is not required, participants are encouraged to attend both sessions to gain a more complete understanding of how financial planning and revenue strategy work together in arts organizations.

The two presentations will be led by Albert Martínez, an AAAE member, and the first recipient of the organization’s Best Student Paper Prize.

Albert Martínez is the inaugural Manager of Strategy and Planning at the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, where he leads organization-wide, multi-year strategic planning, performance insights, and earned revenue strategy to strengthen long-term sustainability and institutional impact. He began at Ailey in financial planning and analysis, leading the annual budget cycle and reporting for a ~$54M organization, before moving into his current role.
Prior to Ailey, he worked across the private sector, including roles at Trivago, Danone, CaixaBank, and Datactics, leading product, growth, and strategic initiatives across fintech, healthcare, travel, and B2B SaaS. A product leader turned arts executive, he brings over a decade of experience partnering with CEOs, boards, and executive teams to translate strategy into resourced plans, measurement systems, and execution in complex, fast-paced environments.
Albert speaks and teaches on strategy, design thinking, financial management, and organizational transformation. He is an Expert-in-Residence in Design Thinking for NYU’s MPA program and a frequent guest lecturer at institutions including Columbia University, NYU, and CUNY. He has also mentored founders and nonprofit leaders through programs affiliated with the “La Caixa” Foundation and the Association of Arts Administration Educators. He is a graduate of New York University, Aarhus Business School, and Pompeu Fabra University, and completed executive education at INSEAD. Originally from Barcelona, Spain, he has worked across Denmark, the UK, and Germany, and is now based in New York City.
More events are coming soon! Stay tuned for future updates.
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