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Person

Michele Kang

Occupation(s):

Businesswoman, Philanthropist
Residence:

Washington, D.C.

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Michele Kang is a businesswoman, investor, and philanthropist, listed in the Forbes “America’s Richest Self-Made Women in 2025,” the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s “Philanthropy 50” in 2025, and TIME magazine’s “TIME100 Philanthropy 2025.” She has focused much of her business and philanthropic investments in women’s sports. 1 2 3

Background and Education

Yongmee Michele Kang was born in South Korea and moved to the United States to attend college. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree from the Yale University School of Management. 1

Career

Kang worked at the aerospace and defense company Northrop Grumman as vice president and general manager of its Health Solutions division. 4

In 2008, Kang founded Cognosante, a technology company that provides solutions to federal health, defense, intelligence, and other civilian agencies. 5 She also founded health technology startup investor Cognosante Ventures and nonprofit Cognosante Foundation which “promotes workforce access and opportunity for women and Veterans.” 6 Cognosante was acquired by Accenture Federal Services in 2024. 5

Kang is listed at number 28 in the Forbes “America’s Richest Self-Made Women in 2025” and was featured on the cover of a Forbes special issue. As of June 2025, her net worth was $1.2 billion. 1 7

Women’s Sports

Kang became interested in soccer in 2019 after attending a reception celebrating the U.S. Women’s National Team winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup. 8 In 2022, she became the majority owner of the National Women’s Soccer League team Washington Spirit. In 2023, she became majority owner of the French professional women’s soccer team Olympique Lyonnais Feminin and the English team London City Lionesses. 9 1 She founded Kynisca Sports International to bring these three sports teams together. 10

Kang has been listed in the Sports Business Journal as a Power Player in Women’s Sports and in Sports Illustrated as one of the 50 Most Influential Figures in Sports. 11 The Washington Post named her as one of the “50 People Shaping our Society in 2025.” 12

Philanthropy

Kang is listed as number 28 in the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s “Philanthropy 50 in 2025.” 2 Others on this list included billionaires Michael Bloomberg, Melinda French Gates, and Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg. 13

She is also listed as a “Trailblazer” in TIME magazine’s “TIME100 Philanthropy 2025,” which is a list of the 100 most influential philanthropists, citing her support for women’s sports. 3

In 2012, Kang established the Cognosante Foundation to help “underprivileged and underresourced individuals build meaningful professional careers and achieve financial independence.” The foundation established an annual fellowship with the Young Invincibles to support first generation college students. 4

In 2024, Kang invested $50 million to establish Kynisca Innovation Hub and gave $30 million to the U.S. Soccer Federation for women’s programs and $4 million to USA Rugby to help the women’s team prepare for the 2028 Olympics. 2 3

The Kynisca Innovation Hub is the first nonprofit multi-team international professional women’s soccer organization which focuses on research in sports science to advance women’s athletic performance. 14 15 In 2025, the Kynisca Innovation Hub joined with U.S. Soccer’s Soccer Forward Foundation which was established in 2024 to “grow the game in communities across America.” Kang provided a $25 million investment into the newly formed partnership, the largest investment in the Soccer Forward Foundation since it was established in 2024. 16 17

Memberships

Kang is a board member of the American Red Cross and a member of the White House Historical Association. She is a member of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts which was founded in 2001 to encourage and support international programs at the Kennedy Center. 6 18 She is also on the boards on the Washington National Opera, the Blair House Foundation, the Society of the Four Arts, and the University of Chicago. She is the co-chair of the American Enterprise Institute National Council. The Gold House recognized Kang as one of the 100 most impactful Asian Pacific leaders in culture and society. 4 11

References

  1. “Michele Kang.” Forbes Profile. Accessed June 21, 2025. https://www.forbes.com/profile/michele-kang/
  2. Maria Di Mento. “Michele Kang.” The Chronicle of Philanthropy – Philanthropy 50. March 4, 2025. Accessed June 21, 2025. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/the-philanthropy-50/?sra=true#id=details_1562_2024
  3. Sean Gregory. “Michele Kang.” TIME – TIME100 Philanthropy 2025. May 20, 2025. Accessed June 21, 2025. https://time.com/collections/time100-philanthropy-2025/7286058/michele-kang/
  4. “Y. Michele Kang.” The Org. Accessed June 22, 2025. https://theorg.com/org/j-lodge/org-chart/y-michele-kang
  5. “Cognosante to become part of Accenture Federal Services.” Accenture. April 15, 2024. Accessed June 21, 2025. https://newsroom.accenture.com/news/2024/accenture-federal-services-to-acquire-cognosante
  6. “Y. Michele Kang.” The White House Historical Association. Accessed June 22, 2025. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/national-council/y-michele-kang
  7. Justin Birnbaum and Gigi Zamora. “Inside Michele Kang’s Plan To Revolutionize Women’s Soccer: ‘Not Some Corporate DEI Project.’ Forbes. June 3, 2025. Accessed June 22, 2025. https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinbirnbaum/2025/06/02/michele-kang-washington-spirit-nwsl-future-of-womens-soccer/
  8. Ione Gildroy. “Who is Michele Kang? The businesswoman investing $30 million in the USWNT.” The Sporting News. November 21, 2024. Accessed June 22, 2025. https://www.sportingnews.com/us/soccer/news/who-michele-kang-businesswoman-investing-30-million-uswnt/65bcc00f8c1f4299823b961d
  9. Rebecca Lewis. “Who is Michele Kang, the millionaire philanthropist who gave Team USA’s Olympic rugby team $4 million?” MSN. August 2024. Accessed June 22, 2025. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/who-is-michele-kang-the-millionaire-philanthropist-who-gave-team-usas-olympic-rugby-team-4-million/ar-BB1qZmcS
  10. Kynisca homepage. Accessed June 22, 2025. https://www.kynisca.com/
  11. “Michele Kang.” Gold House. Accessed June 22, 2025. https://goldhouse.org/people/michele-kang/
  12. “50 People Shaping Our Society in 2025.” The Washington Post – Post Next. Accessed June 22, 2025. https://www.washingtonpost.com/post-next/interactive/2025/
  13. Maria Di Mento. The Chronicle of Philanthropy – Philanthropy 50. March 4, 2025. Accessed June 20, 2025. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/the-philanthropy-50/?sra=true#id=browse_2024
  14. “Who We Are.” Kynisca. Accessed June 21, 2025. https://www.kynisca.com/#who-we-are
  15. “Michele Kang.” American Dream Story. Accessed June 22, 2025. https://americandreamstory.com/michele-kang/
  16. “Kynisca Innovation Hub to Join U.S. Soccer’s Soccer Forward Foundation, Advancing Research, Development and Global Standards in Women’s Soccer.” Kynisca Innovation Hub. April 4, 2025. Accessed June 22, 2025. https://kyniscainnovationhub.com/
  17. “Kynisca Innovation Hub to Join U.S. Soccer’s Soccer Forward Foundation.” Kynisca. April 4, 2025. Accessed June 22, 2025. https://www.kynisca.com/press/kynisca-innovation-hub-to-join-u-s-soccers-soccer-forward-foundation/
  18. “KCICA.” The Kennedy Center – Support. Accessed June 22, 2025. https://www.kennedy-center.org/Support/gmita/
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