Melissa Smey is Associate Dean and Executive Director at Columbia University School of the Arts, where she leads the Arts Initiative and Miller Theatre, and serves as a deputy to Dean Carol Becker to oversee the new Lenfest Center for the Arts. This past fall, she produced the sixth annual Morningside Lights, a participatory event that engaged nearly 2,000 people of all ages and backgrounds, from the Columbia community and the larger neighborhood, in creating art.  A two-time recipient of the ASCAP-Chamber Music America Award for Adventurous Programming for her work at Miller Theatre, she has commissioned and premiered 23 new works from leading international composers including Camila Agosto, Jean-Baptiste Barrière, Missy Mazzoli, Augusta Read Thomas, and John Zorn, and, over the last five years, has produced free programs serving over 15,000 audience members.  She has served as speaker and panelist for organizations including the American Academy in Berlin, Canadian New Music Network, Chamber Music America, The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, New York University, Philadelphia New Music Project, and Works and Process at the Guggenheim.