About Michael E. Hill, Ed.D.

Michael E. Hill, Ed.D. began his service as Chautauqua Institution’s 18th president on Jan. 1, 2017. He immediately set about ushering in an expanded vision for the Institution, emphasizing engaged dialogue on the issues that shape our world and an evolution to year-round programming. This twofold focus reclaims Chautauqua’s roots as a mission that meaningfully serves citizens 12 months of the year leading to an organizational business model with long- term sustainability. This vision is fully articulated in Chautauqua’s strategic plan, 150 Forward, which has guided innovation and decision making amid the tumultuous years of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Philanthropic giving to the Institution has grown dramatically under Dr. Hill’s leadership, allowing for investments in programming, facilities and new initiatives. Boundless: A Campaign for Chautauqua is on track to achieve its $150 million goal by 2026, including bringing more than $50 million in new gifts to Chautauqua’s endowment — the largest boost to the endowment in the Institution’s history. In addition, gifts to the campaign are helping the organization completely renovate Bellinger Hall, renamed the Greene Family Commons, and create a new facility for Chautauqua Theater Company, the Roe Green Theater Center, which includes a black box theater and other spaces that can be leveraged year round. Also, during this campaign, the Institution launched its streaming channel, CHQ Assembly, which is significantly broadening the organization’s digital footprint while bringing Chautauqua’s lecture programs to patrons the world over. Another year-round initiative, Chautauqua Travels, engages Chautauquans in mission-centered travel experiences all year long.

Supported by an endowment gift from Chautauquans Marnette and Paul Perry, Dr. Hill established The Perry Democracy Fellows initiative at Chautauqua to create programs and experiences that strengthen the intellectual and emotional capacities required for active citizenship and democratic participation.

To bring sustained focus to one of the most consequential issues of our time, Dr. Hill created the Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative that engages Chautauquans in important conversations and experiences during the Summer Assembly and year round. Under his leadership, Chautauqua pledged to achieve a net zero carbon impact by the year 2050. This initiative was made possible due to the generosity of two philanthropic families who saw the impact that conversation could have on this existential issue.

In 2021, Dr. Hill established a major partnership with The Jefferson Project at Lake George, bringing teams of scientists and scientific equipment and methods to the Chautauqua Lake region, creating new data and knowledge to inform lake conservation efforts. Seed funded by the Institution, this partnership is also bringing new resources to lake conservation, including more than $5 million in grants from New York state, regional government and foundations. The work to conserve Chautauqua Lake is expected to inform freshwater conservation strategies throughout New York and beyond.

Prior to his appointment at Chautauqua, Dr. Hill served as president and chief executive officer for Youth for Understanding USA (YFU), where he dramatically expanded and diversified programs. He co-led a historic civil rights trip to Cuba with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C., at the invitation of Mariela Castro, two weeks before diplomatic relations were restored between the U.S. and the island nation. An international educator, he has served as a panelist and speaker on issues surrounding international education and student educational exchange.

Prior to joining YFU, Dr. Hill served as senior vice president of external affairs for United Cerebral Palsy. In that role, he led international public education, fundraising, communications, marketing and branding efforts for one of the world’s largest health care charities. He previously led national development, communications and volunteer efforts for Washington National Cathedral as executive director for external relations and held a similar role at The Washington Ballet. Earlier in his career, Dr. Hill directed a $125 million effort to expand the historic Arena Stage, securing the largest single gift ever made to a theater in the U.S., and served as executive director of St. Bonaventure University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, where he oversaw construction of a new museum complex, renovation of a historic theater, addition of an artist residency center, and quadrupling of programming at the multivenue arts complex. He began his career as a journalist, serving as a Dow Jones Newspaper Fund Fellow and as a staff correspondent for the Courier-Observer.

Dr. Hill holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from St. Bonaventure, a master’s degree in arts and cultural management from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, and a doctorate in education from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College. He was a founding faculty member of the Master of Arts Management program at George Mason University (GMU), where he was named 2011 faculty member of the year. He has also given lectures on the nonprofit sector to groups from France and China in his work with GMU and as a visiting lecturer for Georgetown University. In 2016, he was chosen as a leadership fellow in the American Express — Aspen Institute Academy, and in 2012, was selected as one 12 American Express NGen Leadership Fellows in the United States. He is a member of the Robert H. Jackson Center Board of Directors and a member of the Leadership Network of the American Enterprise Institute. Dr. Hill first came to the Institution in 1996 as an assistant editor/copy editor of  The Chautauquan Daily and later served as guest critic for theater and symphonic music.

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