Conor Guzmán is a proud Angeleno and strategic consultant passionate about helping organizations and senior leadership teams achieve their highest potential through bespoke advisory processes. With more than a decade of experience in the performing arts and an academic background in psychology, Conor applies highly adaptive project management skills and a human-centered approach to help nonprofit, public, and private sector institutions achieve their desired outcomes.

After graduating from the University of Michigan’s prestigious musical theatre program, Conor earned early career success as a performing artist in critically acclaimed theatrical productions across the United States. Born and raised in Pasadena, he’s particularly proud to have appeared alongside Barney Miller’s Hal Linden in The Pasadena Playhouse’s production of “The Fantasticks.”

Inspired by his experiences with highly successful creative teams and their ability to collaboratively navigate complex production processes, Conor returned to school in 2018 to pursue a path in organizational psychology. Drawing on a newfound passion for empirical research and people-first innovations, Conor is proudest of the work he and fellow statistics tutors accomplished in supporting both psychology faculty and students in successfully navigating the disruptive abrupt transition from in-person to remote schooling at the onset of the pandemic. 

Upon graduating in 2020 with a second bachelor’s and a deepened commitment to support mission-driven organizations through the application of psychological principles, Conor returned to Los Angeles where he launched his career as a strategic advisor. Later in 2020, Conor joined Star Insights where he has worked on a diverse range of various strategic planning engagements with prominent local organizations including The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, and the City of Los Angeles Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department. In partnership with a committee of performing arts leaders in 2021, Conor also helped develop and present keynote findings of a survey study, “Performing Arts Organizations and Reopening in LA County”, to a large virtual conference of performing arts leaders and executives from across the LA region.

When he’s not rock climbing or hosting game night, Conor can be found beaming in the audience of a show his talented wife created.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• Awarded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Gates Millennium Scholarship
• Completed a 4-year bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2 years, graduating with numerous departmental honors
• Presented “Performing Arts Organizations and Reopening in LA County” keynote research findings to Los Angeles’ most prominent performing arts leaders in 2021

Credentials

• BA in Psychology from the City University of New York – Hunter College
• BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan