Heather Noonan is the Vice President for Advocacy for the League of American Orchestras, the national service organization for the more than 1,600 orchestras in communities across the United States. From the League’s Washington, D.C. office, Heather represents orchestras to national policy leaders in the arenas of government arts funding, education reform, international cultural activity, and nonprofit and philanthropic policies, and leads the League’s efforts to communicate the public value of orchestras and to increase orchestras’ local advocacy capacity. Heather directs the League’s technical assistance to orchestras navigating the complex aviation and protected species rules related to travel with musical instruments, and represented global music interests in treaty negotiations at the 17th and 18th Conferences of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. She established and edits the League web site Artists from Abroad: The Complete Guide to Immigration and Tax Requirements for Foreign Guest Artists. Heather is the convener of the Cultural Advocacy Group, the working group of national arts, humanities, and cultural stakeholders that collaborate year-round to advance federal policy priorities.
Heather serves on the national advisory committee of the Arts Education Partnership, and has served on the boards of directors for the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras and the OMG Center for Collaborative Learning. Prior to joining the League in 1996, she was a legislative associate for the American Arts Alliance. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and studied art history at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington.
