NEW YORK, NY.- NEW INC cofounders Lisa Phillips, Toby Devan Lewis Director, and Karen Wong, Deputy Director of the New Museum, announced today that Stephanie Pereira will become the second director of the New Museum’s cultural incubator. Julia Kaganskiy, the outgoing inaugural director, concludes a remarkable five-year chapter in which she helped establish NEW INC as a recognized, innovative program and a new cultural paradigm for museums.

In September 2018, NEW INC will welcome members to its fifth yearlong cycle. Pereira will oversee the one hundred creative entrepreneurs and a community of four hundred alumni, and steer plans for growth that include NEW INC’s space in the New Museum’s new building designed by OMA, led by Rem Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu.

Pereira spent six years at Kickstarter, a public benefit corporation that has raised more than $3 billion for creative projects and achieved gender parity in employment. She was the first Director of the Arts Program in 2011 and became a key member of Kickstarter’s fourteen-person senior leadership team. As the Director of Creator Engagement, she was responsible for business development, creator loyalty, and user research for a global creator community of more than one hundred thousand people. She launched an on-site residency program and drove a unique partnership with Skillshare, teaching one of their most successful classes on online audience development. She is a cofounder of PWL Camp, an annual weekend retreat at Kickstarter for one hundred creative leaders.

Prior to her time at Kickstarter, Pereira spent six years in the nonprofit and cultural sector, including at Eyebeam, where she was the Associate Director of Learning and Engagement. Since January 2018, she has been the Head of Strategic Initiatives at Imprint Projects. She will start at NEW INC on July 2.

“We are incredibly proud of the accomplishments of NEW INC led by Julia, our brilliant first director,” said Phillips. “Stephanie’s creative business acumen, entrepreneurial spirit, and passion for community building will help shape the next chapter of growth for NEW INC.”

A hybrid workspace and professional development program for creatives at the intersection of art, design, and technology, NEW INC has, under Kaganskiy’s direction, created three hundred jobs, raised $12 million in new investment capital, and generated countless member success stories. Standout partnerships include artist residencies and commissions with Nokia Bell Labs; a Museum Technology track sponsored by the Knight Foundation; Versions, a two-day conference and series of workshops exploring VR/AR with Kill Screen; an immersive music installation developed by NEW INC members with Microsoft Kinect; and NEW INC’s showcase with Red Bull Arts New York. NEW INC has also achieved over 55 percent female membership and formed a community that is almost 50 percent people of color in four years.