The Mentor’s Gift: One of America's Foremost Arts Leaders Draws Lessons from Her Storied Career

By Anne C. Ewers

The Mentor’s Gift is the first professional memoir to explore the concept of mentorship through lived experience. Written by one of America’s most respected arts leaders, the book distills lessons learned over more than 40 years of being  mentored by CEOs, psychologists, artists, legal and financial professionals—even a “corporate shaman.”

Both a personal journey and practical guide, the book offers essential advice for professionals at any stage on how to:

• Choose the right mentor


• Make the most of the mentoring relationship


• Sustain long-term mentorships

In the final section, Ewers reflects on her 25 years as a mentor to professionals in the arts, business, law, media, and tech. She also addresses the key question: How do I choose a mentee?

Told through engaging, memoir-style stories—many as dramatic as the operas she once directed—Ewers recounts a career marked by artistic innovation, international travel, and leadership under pressure. She reveals how mentorship shaped her approach to guiding major arts organizations through financial crises, bankruptcies, mergers, political minefields, and competing stakeholder demands—all while advancing the role of the performing arts in promoting justice.

About the Author

Anne C. Ewers is a nationally recognized arts executive and opera stage director whose 44-year career was influenced by 31 mentors across disciplines from corporate leadership to psychology. 

In 2007, Ewers became President & CEO of the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. In her first year, she retired a $30 million construction debt, increased the endowment from $40 million to $72 million, and launched the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts. Under her leadership, the Kimmel Center grew into the second-largest performing arts center in the U.S.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ewers spearheaded a landmark merger between the Kimmel Center and the Philadelphia Orchestra—unanimously approved in 2021. This historic union created an organization with a $100 million annual budget and a $350 million endowment. Ewers retired following the merger and now serves on the board and executive committees.

Prior to this, she led Utah Symphony & Opera, doubling its endowment and turning a significant deficit into a surplus. She founded the Deer Valley Music Festival and took the symphony on a major European tour.

Ewers holds degrees in Theatre and Music from Fontbonne University and a Master of Music in Opera Production from the University of Texas at Austin. In 2019, Drexel University awarded her an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.

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