Theodore S. Berger has been involved in the arts community for nearly forty years. He served as Executive Director of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) for thirty three years and "retired" in December 2005. During this period, NYFA became one of the country's largest providers of grants and services to individual artists and artist -centered organizations in all disciplines. He is one of the key people in the country focused on supporting artists.

Mr. Berger is now continuing his work through a number of major efforts: he is the Project Director for the Urban Artist Initiative/NYC (UAI/NYC), a consortium program to support NYC artists of color; he also directs New York Creates, an initiative to create more entrepreneurial opportunities for New York's craft artists and artisans, with a special concentration on those forms from immigrant and Diaspora communities, and he serves as a Trustee and is treasurer of the Joan Mitchell Foundation. He has also served as a consultant for the development of the Louisiana Creative Economy Foundation and as lead consultant for the feasibility of developing a new Visual and Performing Arts Library for the Brooklyn Public Library.

In addition to being a member of CUE's Board, Mr. Berger currently serves on the Boards of ArtsConnection, the Design Trust for Public Space, the International Studio and Curatorial Program, the Asian American Arts Alliance, and the HB Studio. He is on numerous Advisory Boards, including Studio in a School, the Theater Museum, Brooklyn Economic Development, the Older Artists Project of Columbia University's Research Center for Arts and Culture, and the Diversity Initiative Committee for Parsons; he is a founding Steering Committee member of the New York City Arts Coalition. He writes and speaks extensively on the arts and artists and cultural policy for numerous national and international publications, conferences, academic institutions, and organizations.

Mr. Berger was formerly Assistant Dean for the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the School of International Affairs at Columbia University.