Emil has spent three decades building, leading, and reimagining performing arts institutions across the United States. His work sits at the intersection of cultural strategy, philanthropy, and higher education, with a focus on how organizations evolve to better serve artists and communities. He brings both a funder’s perspective and an operator’s instinct to institutional transformation.

Most recently, Emil served as Program Director for Arts and Culture at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, directing a team of 18 and a $120 million annual grantmaking portfolio. He helped realign the foundation’s arts funding toward equity and justice and conceived Creatives Rebuild New York, a $125 million initiative that included a landmark guaranteed income program for artists. Previously, he founded Carolina Performing Arts at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, building it into one of the country’s leading university-based performing arts programs and commissioning more than 60 new works.

Earlier, Emil served as President and Executive Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, leading the $60 million restoration of Orchestra Hall and forging community partnerships with Detroit Public Schools and Detroit Public Television. He began his career with the Seattle Symphony and the American Composers Orchestra, and as an Orchestra Management Fellow with the League of American Orchestras.

Emil is Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Yale Ventures Cultural Innovation Lab and recently served as the Agnes Gund Visiting Professor of the Practice of Arts at Brown University. He has been a member of the National Council on the Arts since 2012, appointed by President Barack Obama, and serves as Vice Chair of the New York City Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission. He currently serves on the boards of National Sawdust, GYOPO, Silkroad, and Mutual Mentorship for Musicians.

A frequent speaker at convenings from the Salzburg Global Seminar to the International Society for the Performing Arts, he writes about the future of arts institutions, leadership, and philanthropic practice on his Substack, The Reprise. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Rochester.