Carla Stalling Walter, PhD, MBA, previously held tenured faculty positions in schools of business and management in the United States, as well as having taught in France and Germany. She has published several books, journal articles, and book chapters and has presented papers at numerous arts management research and entrepreneurship conferences. In addition, Dr. Walter has extensive successful experience founding, leading, and directing entrepreneurial arts and other nonprofit organizations. Her track record includes having established university graduate-level arts management programs, as well as having served as executive director and served on fine arts, music, literary, heritage, and dance company boards. Dr. Walter earned her doctorate in Dance History and Theory from the University of California, Riverside. The basis of her dissertation demonstrated that normative government sponsored cultural economic models of professional ballet companies in the United States, Canada, and Germany could be supplanted.

Dr. Walter's master's work resulted in an MBA in Marketing and Management from California State University, San Bernardino, and her undergraduate work in economics culminated in a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Riverside.