Emil J. Kang is currently an entrepreneur-in-residence at Yale Ventures Cultural Innovation Lab at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, as well as a cultural strategist and educator working at the intersection of arts, philanthropy, and public policy. He serves as vice chair of New York City's Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission and on boards including Silkroad, GYOPO, and National Sawdust. A sought-after speaker on cultural leadership and institutional transformation, he writes provocatively about the future of arts institutions. Emil was recently named Agnes Gund visiting professor at Brown University. Appointed by President Obama in 2012, he continues serving on the National Council on the Arts. Previously he was program director at The Mellon Foundation—the nation's largest arts funder—where he led a $120 million annual portfolio and conceived Creatives Rebuild New York, the largest guaranteed income program for artists in U.S. history. He founded Carolina Performing Arts at UNC-Chapel Hill, transforming it into one of the country's premier university-based performing arts programs while commissioning over 60 new works. Earlier, Emil served as president of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, becoming the youngest and first Asian American CEO of a major American symphony. He is a Salzburg Global Fellow.