"[S]enior art critic and a columnist for New York magazine. Formerly the senior art critic for The Village Voice, Saltz has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism three times. He was the sole advisor for the 1995 Whitney Biennial.... Visiting Critic at The School of Visual Arts, Columbia University, Yale University, and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago...." - Wikipedia
His desire to make the arts accessible to the public is perhaps best summed up by his two seasons on the Bravo television show, Work of Art.
He started as a visual artist - a history not yet seen in a Chairperson of the NEA, and long overdue. Moreover, he has co-curated and co-run a gallery, and driven a truck to pay the bills.
In short - he is a champion of the arts who has been in the trenches.