Michael Wilkerson has worked as a university administrator, freelance writer, director of two multidisciplinary artists’ residency programs, founding chair of a national service/advocacy organization, and as founding editor of a national literary magazine. He has taught writing, arts management, literary interpretation and journalism, and has also worked for community performing arts centers, a regional theatre company, a world music organization and a university/community arts festival. Michael has served as a grants panelist for the NEA and many other organizations, and specializes in cultural policy and artists’ support systems. His most recent research explores the creation of a privately funded replacement for the grant funds currently administered by the National Endowment for the Arts.