Lincoln Center, New York
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts has announced Mariko Silver as its next and twelfth President and Chief Executive Officer. Silver will join Lincoln Center on September 23, 2024.
An expert in institutional transformation, organizational change, and intercultural program development, Silver comes to Lincoln Center from her role as President and CEO of the Henry Luce Foundation. The Henry Luce Foundation is a private, independent philanthropy that works to deepen knowledge and understanding in pursuit of a more democratic and just world by nurturing knowledge communities and institutions, fostering dialogue across divides, enriching public discourse, amplifying diverse voices, and investing in leadership development.
At the Luce Foundation, Silver oversaw the creation of new initiatives supporting Democracy, Ethics, and Public Trust and Asian American Voices, prioritized funding exhibitions of and by American artists of color in art museums across the country, and more than doubled the foundation’s funding commitment to Indigenous communities. Silver is also Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) and serves on the boards of the Council on Foreign Relations and Philanthropy New York.
She brings extensive experience managing large complex organizations with multiple stakeholders. As President of Bennington College, the first liberal arts institution in the United States to advance the arts as a co-equal educational endeavor, Silver secured the largest endowment gift in its history, welcomed its biggest and most diverse classes, and forged lasting partnerships with some of the world’s premier arts and cultural institutions. Additionally, she worked closely with local community members and elected officials on the successful effort to redevelop the town of Bennington’s major commercial crossroads.
During the Obama administration, Silver served as Acting Assistant Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Policy for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Before that, she was Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano’s Policy Advisor for Economic Development, Innovation, and Higher Education. Prior to her government service, Silver was instrumental in the transformation and expansion of Arizona State University.
Additionally, Silver is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, and sits on the board of the Migration Policy Institute. She holds a BA in History from Yale University, an MSc in Science and Technology Policy from the University of Sussex (U.K.), a Ph.D. in Economic Geography from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and an honorary Ph.D. from Hofstra University.
