Barry Bergey recently retired as Director of Folk and Traditional Arts at the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Education and Accomplishments: Prior to Bergey's 30-year career at the NEA, he served as state folk arts coordinator in Missouri. As a fieldworker, researcher, festival producer, tour organizer and exhibition curator, he produced documentary recordings of Ozark music, radio programs, and a variety of publications, including a chapter on public policy for the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. He has advised the Center for US-China Arts Exchange on its Joint Plan on Yunnan Cultures Project, and consulted for UNESCO, the Organization of American States, the World Bank, the US Information Agency, and the Department of State. He participated as a member of the US delegation drafting UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage and Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.