The Center announced today the appointment of Jennifer Farah, a nationally recognized philanthropic leader, architect, and entrepreneur, to its Board of Directors. Farah brings a rare combination of creative practice, technological fluency, and strategic leadership to The Center as it advances a vision of creativity as essential to education, innovation, and community well-being, everywhere, for everyone.
Farah most recently served as Director of Arts at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, where she oversaw a national portfolio exceeding $90 million and led more than $75 million in new grantmaking focused on digital transformation in the arts. Her work helped shape how cultural organizations adapt, experiment, and expand access in a rapidly evolving landscape. During her tenure, she launched and led influential initiatives, including The Catalyst Forum, and played a key role in Knight New Work and Knight Media Forum, fostering new models at the intersection of creativity, technology, and civic life.
“At this defining time in The Center’s evolution, Jennifer brings exactly the kind of philanthropic, technological, and cultural expertise we need,” said Andrea Virgin, Chair and CEO of The Center. “Her ability to connect vision with execution will help shape how we design, scale, and sustain creative impact in communities.”
Farah’s career spans disciplines and sectors. Before her philanthropic leadership, she founded SproutsIO, an award-winning food-technology company born out of her research at the MIT Media Lab, earning recognition from Wired Innovation Fellows and the Cartier Women’s Initiative, among others. Her earlier work includes architectural practice with Arquitectonica International, exhibition design at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, an artist-in-residence appointment at Eyebeam, and the co-founding of the design studio fluxxlab. She has also taught design and sustainability at Columbia University, Pratt Institute, and CUNY, underscoring a long-standing commitment to education and interdisciplinary thinking.
“I’ve spent my career working at the edges, where art meets technology, where experimentation meets community need,” said Jennifer Farah. “The Center represents an opportunity to build something intentional and forward-looking, and I’m excited to contribute to a board that values creativity not as an accessory, but as a critical way of thinking and building for the future.”
“I’ve spent my career working at the edges, where art meets technology, where experimentation meets community need,” said Jennifer Farah. “The Center represents an opportunity to build something intentional and forward-looking, and I’m enthusiastic to contribute to a board that values creativity as a critical way of thinking and building for the future.”
In addition to her professional work, Farah has served on advisory boards and committees for organizations including YoungArts, The Joyce Foundation, The Underline, and The Wolfsonian–FIU, further reflecting her commitment to cultural stewardship and civic engagement.
With Jennifer Farah’s appointment, The Center continues to assemble a board that reflects the breadth of thinking, experience, and imagination required to support creative leadership in a rapidly changing world.
