Dean R. Gladden is in his eighth season with Houston's Alley Theatre, where he is responsible for the administrative, financial, marketing, facilities, and development aspects. His career in the performing arts spans 30 years. Prior to joining the Alley, he was managing director at the Cleveland Play House for 19 years. During his career, he has overseen the production of over 240 plays, including more than 70 world and American premieres, and he has established international exchanges with the Czech National Theatre in Prague, the Hungarian National Theatre in Miskolc, the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava, and the Ten New Experimental Theatre in Volgograd, Russia. Gladden has served on the executive committee of the League of Resident Theatres and was vice president of the National Corporate Theatre Fund. He has taught arts management classes at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University, Bowling Green State University, University of Houston, and the University of Akron, where he was director of the graduate program in arts management. He served as a Center theater panelist in 2013.