Michele Kang

Michele Kang was born in South Korea during a time when women were not encouraged to further their careers after graduating college. But Kang’s father encouraged her to pursue her interests regardless of cultural norms. When he was younger, he was awarded a scholarship from the US government to study in America. This Western education influenced his perspective, and his support gave her a solid foundation from which she built her career.

The Pursuit of a Dream

Kang remembers her home as a happy place filled with laughter, friends, and delicious food. “My parents [would ask] us what went well that day and what didn’t,” Kang recalls. “We always felt free to express our opinions. I think this helped me to make persuasive, logical arguments.”

Being an entrepreneurial businesswoman was never in Kang’s mind when she was young. As a child, her future dreams included playing professional basketball and being a teacher or an opera singer.

At some point her vision changed and she found herself at the top of her class in her Korean business school. But Kang felt that to achieve her dream, she needed to study in the United States. (And, unbeknownst to her at the time, she would eventually come full circle back to women’s sports.)

Kang approached her parents and asked them to give her the money they had been saving for her future wedding so that she could fund her first year of college in America, with her covering the rest. At the time, there was unrest in South Korea and demonstrations at many Korean universities, so although her parents were hesitant, they realized that she would be safer going to college in the US than in South Korea. They gave her the money.

Coming to America and Overcoming Obstacles

Getting an education in the United States presented its own set of challenges for Kang. There were language and cultural barriers to overcome. Multiple jobs were needed to support herself financially. In Korea, her education had been good but had also focused a lot on memorizing facts. At the University of Chicago, she realized that she had to apply her learning to real-life scenarios: “That completely changed my way of thinking.”

But Kang was determined to make her American Dream a reality. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Chicago, and she later received a master’s degree from the Yale School of Management.

Cultural and language barriers were not the only obstacles Kang had to overcome. While she was working at Northrop Grumman (an aerospace and defense company), Kang led a division focused on health IT solutions. During this time, she faced a battle with breast cancer, and despite the harrowing diagnosis, she expanded her team and was an exemplary leader. Fortunately, Kang has been cancer-free for nearly 20 years.

Cognosante

In 2008, Michele Kang founded and became chief executive officer of Cognosante, a health technology company that she built from the ground up in her garage—in true American Dream fashion! According to Kang, the company was founded to “disrupt and challenge” conventions within the US’s healthcare system.

Cognosante grew steadily and became a trusted provider of innovative health technology solutions for US agencies, including key federal health, military, and intelligence departments. The company has created many programs to help women, minorities, and disabled individuals.

The Washington Spirit

In 2022, Michele Kang became the first woman of color to own a National Women’s Soccer League team, the Washington Spirit. She immediately set ambitious goals to make the Spirit the absolute best team it can be and push female athletic performance even farther. In 2023, she signed an agreement with the Olympique Lyonnais Groupe (OL Groupe), creating an international women’s soccer organization and becoming the organization’s CEO and primary owner. “This development will usher in a new era of women’s soccer,” she said.

Since becoming majority owner of the Washington Spirit, Kang has done much more women’s sports and female athletes, including an enormous $4 million donation to advance USA women’s rugby. In 2024, Kang announced that the donation would be made over a 4-year period to the US Women’s Rugby Sevens team.

Kang is an investor in Just Women’s Sports, a news and media company founded in 2020 focused on, naturally, women’s sports, and bring attention to female athletes.

Spreading the American Dream

Of course, the American Dream can never truly be achieved unless one gives back and lifts others. Michele Kang is and always has been focused on creating opportunities for others. As mentioned previously, through Cognosante, she has created internships and scholarships for women, first-generation college students, and minority students. Additionally, she supports veterans, particularly those who face challenges such as homelessness and unemployment.

Kang has always been deeply grateful for the American soldiers who helped defend her home country during the Korean War. She is a supporter of the National Museum of the Marine Corps as well as the Chosin Few, an organization of the veterans who fought in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, as well as their spouses and descendants. The Battle of Chosin Reservoir was a decisive battle in the war and resulted in heavy casualties from the battle itself and from the freezing weather when US, British, and South Korean forces were surprised by a large Chinese army in the harsh winter of the northern Korean peninsula.

As an art lover, Kang has also served on various committees, such as the Kennedy Center International Committee, to support art museums, operas, and symphonies, including the Washington National Opera and the Palm Beach Symphony Orchestra.

“When you are successful, I think it is important to bring others along with you.”

In 2024, Kang launched Kynisca Sports International Ltd, the first international organization focused women’s soccer across multiple teams. Important to this effort is the Kynisca Innovation Hub, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sports science research, specifically advancements within the field of female athletic performance.

Awards and Recognitions

Michele Kang has received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Washington, D.C. area. In 2012, she was recognized by STEMConnector as an inaugural member of 100 Women Leaders in STEM and also one of the Top 100 Leaders in STEM four years later. In 2023, she received the Horatio Alger Award, which recognizes individuals who successfully pursue the American Dream.

Of that award, she said, “All of the Members [of the Horatio Alger Association] have scars and bruises to show from their journeys to success, but through all the disadvantages and adversities, they pursued their dreams and they got there. To be a part of that persistence and collective wisdom makes this award the Oscar of my life.”

Fighting for the American Dream

Michele Kang had a vision, a dream of something more than what others expected of her. Through her self-determination and with the help of loving and supportive parents, she was able to take advantage of the opportunities in front of her. And throughout her career, she has never forgotten that no one is ever truly self-made.

People don’t magically become successful. They need opportunities presented to them, and Michele Kang has done her best to lift those around her and be a source of opportunity, especially for the disadvantaged. Kang is a role model for female athletes and women worldwide, and anyone who has a dream.

“I can tell you my own personal experience that it is called the American Dream—not French, not English, not Korean Dream—because there is no other place in the world that gives every citizen the opportunity to achieve success through their own hard work, determination, and personal initiative.”