Ann Ziff

Ann Ziff is chairman of the Metropolitan Opera—a longtime Viking cultural partner—and serves on the boards of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Sing for Hope, Los Angeles Opera, Fairchild Tropical Garden and the World Science Festival. She is board emerita of the American Museum of Natural History and New York Restoration Project. Ms. Ziff also has an eponymous fine jewelry brand, Tamsen Z, where she designs and creates one-of-a-kind pieces inspired by her love of culture, art and music as well as her travels as a loyal Viking guest.  

Ms. Ziff is a dedicated philanthropist who supports the arts, education, culture and environmental conservation, and as a former psychiatric social worker, she remains committed to helping children in need by bringing culture and arts into their lives. She co-founded Smile Train, was the chairman of the Rainforest Alliance and served on the boards of Carnegie Hall, Conservation International, Lang Lang International Music Foundation, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Maloto, an organization that provides education and housing for abused and abandoned girls in Malawi. She also founded the Caribbean Community Theater in St. Croix.  

She earned a Master of Social Work from New York University and a master’s in music therapy from Temple University. She continues her relationship with Temple University as a visiting professor at its Boyer College of Music and Dance. Ms. Ziff was a guest lecturer at the University of Oxford’s Worcester College and Saïd Business School. She was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in humanities from Wittenberg University and an honorary doctorate in humane letters from The Juilliard School.