Who

As head of programming at Lincoln Center, Moss decides who—and what—appears on the stage of New York's most notable arts institution.

Backstory

Pennsylvania native Moss's first job in the arts was at Baltimore's Center Stage, where she was director of marketing. In 1977, she decamped to New York; in the '80s she was executive director of the off-Broadway theater Playwrights Horizons, and then headed up Meet the Composer. In 1992, she was appointed vice president of programming at Lincoln Center by then-president Nathan Leventhal. Her appointment came as a surprise to some, as she didn't have much programming experience and was largely considered an outsider. But she's remained in the job, and has weathered her fair share of controversy along the way. She works closely with Lincoln Center's musical director, Louis Langree.

Of note

One of Moss's first initiatives after taking over Lincoln Center was revamping Mostly Mozart, one of the Center's most popular annual events. A barrage of criticism followed—particularly after she trimmed the event from seven weeks to four—but most observers have since credited her with instilling energy into a festival that had grown stale over the years. (To mark the 40th anniversary of Mostly Mozart, four new works were commissioned, including a dance by Mark Morris.) Moss was also responsible for introducing the annual Lincoln Center Festival, which attracts thousands to an eclectic mix of reasonably-priced performances every summer. And she's also been praised for forging partnerships with other venues around town—like in 2006 when she worked with Joseph Melillo of BAM to coordinate a month-long celebration of works by composer Steve Reich.

Drama

In 2002, Lincoln Center's 42-member orchestra went on strike—just hours before the opening of Mostly Mozart—after Moss butted heads with the musicians' union, Local 802, over a contract provision related to job security. Likewise, her support for the Philharmonic's attempted move to Carnegie Hall in 2003 didn't win her many friends. Detractors have pointed to these incidents as evidence that her approach can occasionally be inflexible and stubborn.

Habitat

Moss lives on the Upper East Side and has a weekend home in Washington, Conn.