CI to Eye | Purpose-Driven Leadership in Uncertain Times
Release Date: 12/19/2024
Best of the Season
CI to Eye with Monica Holt
Join host Monica Holt as she reflects on the moments that defined the Fall 2025 season, and hear cultural leaders remind us why connection, creativity, and collaboration are more important than ever.
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Aly Maier Lokuta on the Intersection of Arts and Health
CI to Eye with Monica Holt
Aly Maier Lokuta knows that art and science aren’t opposing disciplines. They’re a shared language for strengthening public wellbeing. Her career has long bridged these worlds, from co-founding Rutgers’ Arts and Health Research Lab to leading the largest public mural initiative since the WPA era during her time with NYC Health + Hospitals. Now, as AVP of Arts and Well-Being at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, she’s proving what many leaders in the field are only beginning to articulate: that cultural institutions can be powerful drivers of community health. In...
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Ming Min Hui on Luck, Leadership, and Wall Street
CI to Eye with Monica Holt
For Ming Min Hui, there’s no single “right” path to arts leadership—only the one you build through curiosity, courage, and a willingness to evolve. Her career began far from the stage, in finance and corporate strategy on Wall Street. Today, as Executive Director of Boston Ballet, she sees that wide-ranging experience not as a detour but as the engine behind her leadership. In this episode, Ming reflects on the value of expansive career paths, the power of collaborative problem-solving, and how she uses her business acumen to deepen the relevance of a 400-year-old art form in Boston...
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Alex Sarian on the Audacity of Relevance
CI to Eye with Monica Holt
For Alex Sarian, relevance isn’t a buzzword. It’s a mandate for the future of the arts. As President and CEO of the Werklund Centre in Calgary, he’s leading the largest cultural infrastructure project in Canadian history, a transformation that will soon make the organization the country’s largest performing arts campus. But Alex is quick to point out that bricks and mortar aren’t the real story. The deeper shift is philosophical: a move away from mission statements as fixed declarations and toward a practice of asking, “What does the world need right now that we are uniquely...
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LIVE: Deborah F. Rutter on Leading Through Disruption and Designing for Resilience
CI to Eye with Monica Holt
The future of arts and culture depends on leaders who can innovate, adapt, and inspire—and Deborah Rutter has been doing it at the highest levels. With five decades of experience leading premier cultural institutions across the United States, she knows what it takes to drive meaningful change while keeping artists and audiences at the center. In this live episode from Boot Camp 2025, the former President of the Kennedy Center and current Vice Provost for the Arts at Duke University shares lessons from her career on leading through periods of transformational growth and building the...
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Christopher Williams on Building a More Courageous Arts Sector
CI to Eye with Monica Holt
It’s Boot Camp week! In this special mini episode, Capacity’s President Christopher Williams joins host Monica Holt to pull back the curtain on Boot Camp, the leading conference for arts and culture professionals. They dive into how this year’s program came together, the sessions they’re most excited about, and how courage and curiosity are the keys to a stronger sector. LINKS:
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Shanta Thake on Curiosity, Collaboration, and Building the Next Chapter of Lincoln Center
CI to Eye with Monica Holt
Shanta Thake sees artistic curation as a practice rooted in curiosity and community connection. As the Ehrenkranz Chief Artistic Officer at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Shanta is helping redefine what one of the world’s most storied institutions can be. Since joining in 2021, she’s helped usher in an era of experimentation and access to ensure the arts remain central to New York City’s civic life. In this episode, Shanta reflects on what it means to democratize the programming process, how the arts contribute to community wellbeing, and why leading with curiosity sparks...
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Rachel Moore on The Music Center, Community, and the Arts within Democracy
CI to Eye with Monica Holt
For Rachel S. Moore, the arts aren’t just a mirror for society. They’re a means of shaping it. As President and CEO of The Music Center in Los Angeles, she oversees one of the largest performing arts centers in North America, stewarding $3 billion in county assets and programming that reaches hundreds of thousands of Angelenos each year. A former professional dancer with American Ballet Theatre (she’s also its former CEO and executive director), Rachel brings an artist’s discipline to leadership—and a belief that creativity and civic life are deeply intertwined. In this episode,...
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Babatunde Akinboboye on Hip Hopera, Authenticity, and Letting Audiences Lead
CI to Eye with Monica Holt
Reimagining a centuries-old art form takes more than talent; it takes courage, curiosity, and a deep belief that tradition can evolve. Few embody that spirit like Babatunde Akinboboye. A classically trained baritone and viral “hip hopera” artist, Babatunde is redefining what opera can sound like—and who it’s for. His mashups of rap and arias have captivated millions online, and garnered attention from The Ellen Show, America's Got Talent and TIME Magazine. He’s now channeling that distinctive style into his upcoming debut album. In this episode, Babatunde shares how he discovered...
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Tom Gabbard on Cultivating Creative Cities and Building Space for Innovation
CI to Eye with Monica Holt
Can a performing arts center change the identity of a city? Tom Gabbard has spent more than two decades proving it can as CEO of Blumenthal Arts in Charlotte, NC. Under his leadership, Blumenthal has grown from a regional performing arts center into a national force. Charlotte now ranks among North America’s Top 10 markets for touring Broadway shows, and the organization also fosters experimental projects in Blume Studios, a 44,000-square-foot “arts R&D lab” that pushes beyond traditional stages. In this episode, Tom reflects on how he balances commercial success with cultural...
info_outlineThe end of the year is a busy time for arts administrators, packed with holiday campaigns and fundraising deadlines. With so much happening, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. So today we’re taking a moment to pause, reflect, and reconnect with our “why.”
In this episode, we revisit a popular Boot Camp 2024 conversation with CI President Priya Iyer Doshi and Terri Freeman, President of The Lewis Museum, about purpose-driven leadership and the resilience of our industry. Then, we ask arts administrators to reflect on their year and what’s fueling their passion in 2025. It will leave you feeling grounded, inspired, and ready to tackle what’s ahead.
CI to Eye with Terri Freeman (1:30) - Live from Boot Camp 2024, CI President Priya Iyer Doshi sits down with Terri Freeman, President of The Lewis Museum. Together they discuss purpose-driven leadership, resilience, and navigating uncertainty with clarity. It’s a timely conversation and a powerful reminder of the importance of our work.
Ask The Industry (59:30) - Dan takes his microphone to the Boot Camp floor to ask arts administrators about their year in review. They share their excitements, challenges, and what’s keeping them inspired as we roll into 2025. Listen for familiar voices from Acadiana Center for the Arts, ArtOps, ArtsWave, Ballet BC, Carnegie Hall, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Charleston Gaillard Center, Cincinnati Arts Association, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Houston Ballet, Huntington Theatre Company, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Madison Symphony Orchestra, New York Theatre Workshop, Paper Mill Playhouse, Proctors Collaborative, Signature Theatre, Trinity Rep, University Musical Society, YoungArts, and ZACH Theatre.