Patrick Mulhearn is an entertainment industry growth strategist and consultant offering advisory services for project financing, development, and production with a special focus on tax incentives and industry marketing for companies and jurisdictions. He is the founder of the Louisiana Academy of Production, a BESE-approved charter school scheduled to open in August of 2026. He is a past president and founder of the Louisiana Film and Entertainment Association (now known as Film Louisiana) and headed the operations of the Celtic Studios and the Celtic Media Centre from 2009 to 2017. Previously, he was the Assistant Director of Film and Television for the State of Louisiana having joined Louisiana Economic Development in 2006. Originally from Natchez, Mississippi, Mulhearn started out in film studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder but transferred to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge in 1994 where he received his B.A. in political science. He also received his Master of Arts in the Liberal Arts in 2000 from LSU with a focus on mass communication. Before joining LED, Mulhearn began his career working as an advertising copywriter at the Weill Agency in Baton Rouge. He went on to serve as a Marketing Producer at both WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge and WWL-TV in New Orleans. His work on WWL-TV’s “Spirit of Louisiana” campaign earned him a Regional Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Mulhearn was named to Greater Baton Business Report’s “Capital Region 500” list in 2023 and in 2024 for being one of “the most powerful and influential business and community leaders in the Capital Region.” Previously he was selected to the publication’s “Forty under Forty” list and was inducted into the LSU Alumni Hall of Distinction in 2015. He received multiple awards and was invited to speak at the U.S. Capitol in 2016 for turning Celtic Studios into an exceptionally effective evacuee shelter during the historic regional flood that year.