DeVone Holt takes the helm as Muhammad Ali Center’s first Louisville-raised leader

DeVone Holt has been in his role as the Muhammad Ali Center’s CEO and president for just a week.

Before taking over at the Ali Center, Holt served as chief external affairs officer at Goodwill Industries of Kentucky. While there, he helped with the development of the Goodwill Opportunity Campus in west Louisville .

He is the first Louisvillian to lead the cultural intuition celebrating boxing great and Louisville legend Muhammad Ali in its nearly 20-year history.

LPM’s Breya Jones spoke with Holt about stepping into the role, his goals and landing his “dream job.”

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Breya Jones: What made you want to apply for the CEO and president position at the Ali Center?

DeVone Holt: The easy answer is this was my dream job. I remember about 20 years ago, when this place opened, how excited I was, the community was, that we were celebrating the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali. As a Louisville native, needless to say, I grew up in this community admiring The Champ, not just from a distance, but have had opportunities to meet him. And know countless people who know Muhammad Ali and had experiences with him over the years. And the idea of being able to carry on that legacy and continue that work to impact people, both near and far was a dream opportunity for me.

BJ: To be the first Louisvillian to lead the Ali Center, does that create an added sense of pressure for you?

DH: No, I don't feel any pressure in that way. Actually, it's quite a privilege to know this community intimately. I grew up here, I know this community very well, this community has been very, very kind to me over the years. And so my hope is that I can build a stronger bridge from the Muhammad Ali Center back into the community, as someone who knows it intimately, and now has the opportunity to take the reins here at the center. I just believe that there is really a sense of coming together between the two that I think will be incredibly beneficial for the community and the Ali Center as well to have us paired together.

BJ: How has being from Louisville and your time at Goodwill Industries of Kentucky helped prepare you for the new role?

DH: I tell folks I’m the Black Forrest Gump, and if you think about Forrest Gump, and a life that had him going from one incredible experience to the next, he didn't plan it, he just kind of stumbled into these incredible life experiences. And mine is not very different from that, I wish I could say I planned out my career, and it happened the way that I planned it. But I had these incredible opportunities that I was able to take advantage of, and those opportunities gave me the ability to meet people who helped me get things done, [I] was able to build a network of people who exist in this community and around the country, quite frankly, that I think one will respond when I reach out which is, which is great.

BJ: As you step into this role, what are some of the big topics that you want to implement or continue to see implemented by past CEOs?

DH: I want to start with making sure that we continue to honor the legacy of Muhammad Ali, as simple as that sounds. He was a complex man. You think about a man who built his career in the boxing ring, beating people up, but was considered one of the greatest humanitarians of all time, and was considered an ambassador of peace. That's a dichotomy of a man that is, I think, worthy of reflection, and us studying to ensure that those principles are ones that continue to translate and to our society.

And so we start with just the legacy managing his legacy. But beyond that, this center is one that was designed to not only showcase the greatness of Muhammad Ali, but to inspire other people to find and pursue greatness for themselves.

BJ: I know that strengthening connections with the community has been an ongoing goal of the Ali Center. How do you plan on continuing that work?

DH: The simple answer to that is finding ways for the community to show up in this space. You know, this is a beautiful facility that has a ton of artifacts and inspirational messages that I think would be beneficial for the community. One of the things that he was great at doing was bringing people together from all different parts of life, different walks of life. And we want to continue in that same tradition here.

BJ: We’re coming up on the 20th anniversary of Ali Center opening. What do you see for the next 20 years?

DH: Ultimately what we'd like to do is not have people just come to the Muhammad Ali Center, I want to take the Muhammad Ali Center to the world, I want us to be able to expand our programming, our services, our impact and our influence well beyond the boundaries of Kentucky, and respond to many of the people who in my first week are reaching out to me from places like Japan, from Switzerland, from England, Saudi Arabia. The outreach has been incredible in just my first week in this role, and it lets me know that the world is open to us. And it's our prerogative to figure out how we are able to take the Muhammad Ali Center to the world.

BJ: For you, what does successfully carrying on Muhammad Ali’s legacy look like?

DH: One is helping people again, pursue greatness in a way that they defined for themselves. You know, I think he was such an incredible inspiration, and in the way that he lived his life. And so to use this center in a way that encourages other people to pursue greatness and do big and bold and life challenging, world challenging world-changing things, I think is a great tool and a great gift that we have I have here at the Muhammad Ali Center that I would love to continue to advance.

The other one is making sure that people don't forget about the work that he did, who he is, who he was, what he contributed to this world and this society. He's one of the most notable human beings in human history, when you think about the impact and the influence and the notoriety that he had around the world, but still had the common touch to communicate and touch and work with people at the local level. That's a special gift that I want us to continue to manage here at the Ali Center.

BJ: Okay, last question. Do you think Ali’s Olympic gold medal is at the bottom of the Ohio?

DH: I don't know. You know, if the champ said he did it, then I'm gonna trust that he did it. That's what I'm gonna trust.