Biography

Allison Sampson, principal of Allison Sampson Management Consultants, is an accomplished private sector and nonprofit executive with outstanding leadership skills in administration, production, finance, conflict resolution, fundraising, marketing, strategic planning, public affairs, community organizing, advocacy, and institutional and organizational development. Allison has 20 years' experience in complex coalition building and has guided successfully multifaceted programs from concept to delivery.

Allison has held several senior management positions in cultural organizations such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic and has served as interim management for the Los Angeles Free Clinic, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Santa Fe Stages, Deaf West Theatre, Women Incorporated, and the YWCA of Los Angeles. She was also the executive director of the world-renowned Los Angeles Festival.

Since 1992 she has been the principal of her own firm, Allison Sampson Management Consultants.In this role, Allison has consulted with various nonprofit clients, including arts organizations such as Plaza de la Raza, West Coast Jewish Theatre, the Los Angeles Music Center, Inner-City Arts, Santa Monica Museum of Art, SPARC, and the Ahmanson Theatre Re-Opening Project. The Los Angeles County Performing Arts Commission, Los Angeles City Cultural Affairs Department, and the Center for Cultural Innovation also have engaged Allison for assistance in their various arts-related technical assistance programs.

Skilled at complex institutional and organizational development issues, Allison has had recurring contracts in government with clients such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the following Los Angeles city entities: Community Redevelopment Agency, Recreation and Parks Department, Department of Transportation, the Chief Legislative Analyst's Office for the city council, and the Department of Water and Power. She has also worked for the State of California, the California State Library System, and the City of Long Beach Economic Development Center, assisting in streamlining internal processes and providing strategic guidance.

A strong coalition builder, Allison frequently works with various organizations to enhance their partnerships and financial resources and to help guide them through complex community or business issues. She has worked on behalf of a wide range of nonprofit advocacy organizations from the Interfaith Coalition to the First AME Church and the Cecil L. Murray Education Center, as well as the American Women Economic Development Corporation and the United Cambodian Center.

In 1999, Allison was the incubator of the Colburn Foundation and still serves as its executive director today. The Colburn Foundation is the nation's largest foundation devoted to classical music. In 2002, Allison became part of the founding team for the Center for Cultural Innovation and remains under contract as its faculty and project director. Allison is also a senior research associate with the Human Interaction Research Institute.

Allison Sampson Management Consultants is a nationally certified Women-Owned Business by the National Women's Business Council in Washington, D.C., and a member of the International Management Consultants Organization, as well as several arts organizations.

Allison is a summa cum laude masters of Positive Organizational Development and Change at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Allison is a summa cum laude bachelor of liberal arts graduate of Mount St. Mary's College, Los Angeles, with an emphasis in music and urban planning. She has completed two public affairs programs with the CORO Foundation and is a life-long learner in the field of advanced facilitation, strategic planning, and board development.