Valerie Gay

Valerie V. Gay (Val Gay®) is a Creative, Certified Financial Planner, non-profit administrator, recording and performing artist and thought leader. While a classically trained soprano, Val is an active performer across several genres, having widely performed, including a solo performance at Carnegie Hall and a feature on NPR Music.

Val was recently appointed by the Mayor of Philadelphia as executive director of Creative Philadelphia (formerly the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy), and the first executive director of the office to serve in the Mayor’s Cabinet in Philadelphia.

In 2019, Val received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from St. Joseph’s University and has earned a Professional Studies Certificate and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance, a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from the University of the Arts and completed degree course work at Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University.