Kai Kight, Classical Violinist and Innovative Composer

Dr. Gail O. Mellow has served as President of LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens since 2000. A member of the City University of New York (CUNY) system, LaGuardia is a nationally recognized leader among community colleges for achieving boundary-breaking success educating underserved students.

Dr. Mellow is co-author of the book Taking College Teaching Seriously: Pedagogy Matters! (2015), which explores a groundbreaking digital model for improving college teaching to increase student success. An expert on the history and future of the American community college, Dr. Mellow also co-authored Minding the Dream: The Process and Practice of the American Community College (2014). She is a member of several national commissions, including the Commission on Postsecondary Education of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Commission on Financing 21^st Century Education.

In 2014, Dr. Mellow was featured in a series of articles in The New York Times about the challenges and triumphs of LaGuardia and community colleges nationwide. She is frequently sought as a commentator on the changing landscape of higher education and has been quoted in a range of publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg Businessweek, and has appeared on national radio and television broadcasts on NPR, MSNBC, and PBS.