Federal Contractors | Technology 2023: Y. MICHELE KANG

FOUNDER AND CEO, COGNOSANTE, FALLS CHURCH

Published August 30, 2023 by Virginia Business

Born in South Korea, Kang moved to the United States as a teen with her family, driven to succeed. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and her master’s degree from the Yale School of Management. An entrepreneur who started companies and bought and invested in others, she has always been focused on information technology solutions.

In 2008, she founded Cognosante, which provides IT support to federal, state, and local government agencies in public health. In May, the company was one of four contractors to win a spot on a $1 billion Department of Veterans Affairs telehealth contract, in addition to its $217 million VA Community Care Referrals and Authorization program contract awarded in September 2022.

Kang, who is also majority owner of the women’s pro soccer team Washington Spirit, was inducted into the Washington Business Hall of Fame last year by Junior Achievement of Greater Washington. In June, she became the first woman to own a multiteam soccer organization, which includes both the Spirit and France’s Olympique Lyonnais and is expected to add more teams from around the world, The New York Times reported.

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