We bring elite performance training to your workplace
Corporate leadership training is too costly for too little gain. Yet never have we needed leaders who can connect and inspire more. Enter a company built by Juilliard-trained performers thats brings the lens of performance training to your workplace.
MISSION
We produce highly-engaging,
highly-practical development programs
for growth-oriented companies.
VISION
We promote human connection
and personal growth through
performance training.
CORE VALUES
Only Connect
Better leaders make better connections. Better connections mean stronger companies. We move from an understanding all true behavioral change is social.
Include the Body
Most leadership training disembodies its audience, appealing only to their heads. Seasoned performers know behavior takes root in one’s voice and body as much as in one’s brain.
Safe Enough For Risk
We are masters of Rehearsal, cultivating spaces that promote vulnerability and risk-taking, two ingredients essential for behavioral change.
A Rehearsal Room for Leadership
You can’t learn to hit a fastball from a tutorial video. And you can’t learn to dance salsa from a slide deck. Combining industry-backed best practices with performance training techniques from institutions like Juilliard means preparing for your job the way great actors prepare for their most important roles.
Meet Our Team
Alejandro Rodriguez
Founder & CEO
Alejandro is the founder and creative director of Alejo Communication, where he oversees client relationships. With over 12 years’ experience as a leadership coach, Ale has led engagements on five continents, across a broad range of industries including Health Care, Advertising, Legal, Finance, Technology, Media, Real Estate and Academia. He leverages his background as a performing artist to create learning environments that are both entertaining and rigorous, and that leave participants motivated by the progress they’re making. The proud son of Cuban immigrants, Alejandro earned his degree from The Juilliard School where he received the Michel St. Denis Prize for Outstanding Achievement. He continues to write creatively and his most recent play, Alba, is set to premiere in the Fall of 2026.
Therese Barbato
Talent & Design Lead
Therese is Talent and Design Lead and a facilitator and coach at Alejo. In over a decade of experience as a communications consultant, she has designed and led programs for clients around the globe and across multiple industries: financial services, media, law, venture capital, technology, healthcare and in the nonprofit sector. Therese trained as a performer at the Juilliard school and brings that expertise to bear in helping people communicate more clearly and with greater impact. In addition to coaching and facilitating, Therese has taught at Northwestern University, The Chapin School, The Hunts Point Alliance for Children and she hosts and produces a podcast about love called that’s what she said.
Bailey Hacker
Executive Assistant
Bailey Hacker is the Executive Assistant at Alejo Communication. Dedicated to making every client interaction full of ease and enjoyment, Bailey manages scheduling, designs workshop materials, and keeps contracts and logistics running. Her background as a theater artist gives her a unique perspective in supporting the development and training of Alejo’s actor-coaches. Bailey is a graduate of Southern Methodist University, and alongside her work at Alejo, she continues to work as a director in South Florida’s regional theater community.
Ethan Saks
Strategic Operations Manager
Ethan is the Strategic Operations Manager at Alejo Communication, where he drives operational efficiency and leads new business initiatives. Known as Alejo’s “Swiss Army Knife,” he combines a background in problem-solving and content production to tackle everything from editing promotional videos to redesigning internal systems for greater productivity. With formal training in acting and theater, Ethan brings a deep appreciation for the relevance and impact of Alejo’s work. He is a proud graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and the producer and co-host of the gaming strategy podcast Lords of Limited.
Why hire Juilliard graduates to coach your leaders?
“At some point in my journey moonlighting as an L&D facilitator, it occurred to me that what was missing in corporate training was what my actor-peers knew intimately: how to rehearse, embody, and repeat behavior until they habituate it. Plus, I had a mischievous little secret: it could be fun.”
-Alejandro Rodriguez, Founder & CEO