Yvette Man-yi Kong

Yvette Man-yi Kong (she/her) is an art and social innovator who infuses a transdisciplinary approach in everything she sees, crafts, and solves. She is a Lecturer in the Art, Culture, and Technology (ACT) program at MIT, where she pioneers the emerging methodology of Transversal Design—an transdisciplinary practice that blends art and social innovation. Kong founded Transversal Lab (T.Lab), an art innovation studio dedicated to bridging socially-engaged art with public engagement and market relevance. Her latest work, The JadeWalkers, premiered at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale in May 2025.

A former Olympian, Kong represented Hong Kong in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Following her athletic endeavors, she served as a consultant for McKinsey & Company and later a product development and innovation strategist at the Estee Lauder Companies. Deeply passionate about promoting mental wellbeing and performance, Kong is a founding board member of Mind Hong Kong, a leading mental health charity in Asia, and serves on the lululemon Global Advisory Board on Mental Wellbeing. She founded Arelyx, an innovation-driven education venture that equips youth and educators with the psychological resilience, creative leadership, and transdisciplinary tools needed to thrive in an AI-driven world.

Kong’s pursuit of knowledge combines human mind and management science. She received her BA in Cognitive Science from the University of California, Berkeley, an MSc in Performance Psychology from the University of Edinburgh, an MBA from Tsinghua University, and an M.Sc. in Management Studies from the MIT Sloan School of Management. She is also a motivational speaker and an executive/performance coach, guiding individuals to untap their greatest potential.