Five Questions with Allison Sampson and Christine Hughes
The President’s Council is a senior leadership advisory group. Learn more about the President’s Council members in this new people@Emerson series. Each month, two members will share what guides their work at Emerson.
Allison Sampson
Vice President and Executive Director, Emerson Los Angeles
Q: How long have you worked at Emerson?
A: Three months
Q: What department(s) do you oversee?
A: Emerson Los Angeles
Q: Why did you choose to work at the College?
A: The last year of college is a transformative period in a student’s life as they prepare to transition to their chosen career paths. I came from a conservatory and K–12 after-school program and I had been a mentor of underserved high school students for many years. This seemed like the natural next step. ELA was particularly intriguing because of the internship program and civic engagement as well as the academics.
Q: What values guide your work?
A: Integrity, service, gratitude, enthusiasm, generosity, and quality guide my work as well as ethics in the nonprofit and higher education sector.
Q: What is one change you would like to see at Emerson that would make it an even better place to work or study?
A: To make Emerson LA a household name in Los Angeles, to connect with more Emersonians, and to be a driving force in accelerating urban development in Hollywood.
Christine Hughes
Vice President and General Counsel
Q: How long have you worked at Emerson?
A: I started at Emerson in June 2004, so I’ve been here 12½ years.
Q: What department(s) do you oversee?
A: I oversee our small Office of the General Counsel and our terrific Emerson College Police Department.
Q: Why did you choose to work at the College?
A: I was—and I continue to be—excited by Emerson’s capacity to grow and reinvent itself. I’d previously been at two large research universities, and I am captivated by Emerson’s ability to be nimble.
Q: What values guide your work?
A: Ethics and integrity are at the core of everything we do. As lawyers, we take an oath. The language is a little old-fashioned: “…to conduct myself in the office of an attorney…to the best of my knowledge and discretion, and with all good fidelity…” and we hold ourselves to that oath every day.
And, Deputy General Counsel Meredith Ainbinder and I like to say that we are “FAST”: Friendly, Attentive, Strategic, and Timely. People come to us with real problems that they need to solve in real time. We try to be responsive and practical.
Q: What is one change you would like to see at Emerson that would make it an even better place to work or study?
A: Could we open a campus in Paris that I need to visit on a regular basis?