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. Allison was Executive Director of the Colburn Foundation from 1999-2008.
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 Department of Cultural Affairs, 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 and the following Los Angeles City entities: Cultural Affairs Department, 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.
As Executive Director of the 1993 Los Angeles Festival, Allison produced 200 multidisciplinary events including international collaborations and touring imports in fifty venues throughout Los Angeles – a $4.3 million, four-week arts festival which began with the l984 Olympic Arts Festival. Her responsibilities included all aspects of finance, production, public affairs, marketing, fundraising, and development of and service to a 35-member board of directors and multiple advisory boards, with Artistic Director, Peter Sellars. Highlights of this Festival include a major economic development initiative with the Leimert Park Merchants Association in the Crenshaw South Central Business district and oversaw renovation of The Vision complex, a multi-purpose 1,100 seat theatre located in an African American business and cultural community.
In 1999, Allison was the incubator of the Colburn Foundation until May 2008 and continues to have a close relationship with them and the Colburn School. 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 with them. Allison is also a senior research associate with the Human Interaction Research Institute. This year, Allison will teach Finance for Artists at the Center for Cultural Innovation and guest lecture on Integrated Learning for Artists and Producing Festivals at Otis College of Design.
Allison holds a summa cum laude Masters in Positive Organizational Development and Change from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Allison is a summa cum laude Bachelor of Arts graduate of Mount St. Mary's College, Los Angeles, with an emphasis in music and urban planning. During her tenure with Bank of America, she completed an MBA simulation in Finance. She has completed two public affairs programs with the CORO Foundation and is a lifelong learner in the field of advanced facilitation, strategic planning and board development. She resides in Los Angeles, California.
