Having helmed distinguished art schools and programs in Paris, Washington DC and Los Angeles, Samuel Hoi became president of Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in 2014. In 2017, along with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Ava DuVernay and Sandra Cisneros, he received a Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellowship, one of the few arts administrators to earn the honor in recognition of his work fostering “powerful works of art that help advance freedom, justice and inclusion, and strengthen our democracy.”

In this interview, Samuel (or Sammy, as he likes to be called) reveals how his cross-cultural background, his artistic training and a fearlessness in saying yes to whatever challenge was thrown his way shaped the way he leads and fosters leadership in others today – at MICA and in the Baltimore communities with whom MICA partners.