Rio Sakairi is artistic director at The Jazz Gallery, a performance space in New York where she has helped to identify and nurture jazz artists since 2000. One such musician, jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, notes, “Rio has helped launch the career of virtually every notable jazz artist under 40 that I can think of. Her tireless efforts have rejuvenated the music and galvanized the musical community.” Under her direction, The Jazz Gallery received the CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming in 2016, 2014, and 2010. She also received the 2016 Jazz Hero Award from the Jazz Journalists Association. Sakairi earned a dual degree in music and liberal arts from The New School for Social Research. She served as a Performance panelist at the Center in 2019.