01.23.2026

Muhammad Ali Center Appoints Chief of Compassion to Lead Global Integration of Ali’s Legacy

LOUISVILLE, KY (January 23, 2026) — The Muhammad Ali Center has appointed Simon Cohen as its Chief of Compassion, a new leadership role focused on integrating compassion across the Center’s work and advancing its global impact.

In this role, Cohen will steward compassion as a unifying principle across the Center’s research, education, partnerships, and global engagement, working closely alongside the Muhammad Ali Global Peace Laureate and the Center’s senior leadership team. He will also continue to lead the Muhammad Ali Index, the Center’s flagship research initiative measuring compassion across cities and communities.

The appointment reflects the Center’s long-held belief that compassion lies at the heart of Muhammad Ali’s legacy – not only as a personal value, but as a force for leadership, social connection, and peacebuilding in a complex and divided world.

Speaking at the recent Muhammad Ali Forever Stamp ceremony, Lonnie Ali, Co-Founder and CEO of the Muhammad Ali Center, reflected on the enduring responsibility of carrying Muhammad’s values forward.

“Muhammad spent his life showing us that true greatness is not measured by who we knock down, but by who we lift up,” said Ali. “His greatest legacy was compassion – how he showed up for people. He showed us that compassion is not weakness. It is courage. It is seeing another person’s pain and refusing to look away.

“The greatest tribute we can offer Muhammad is not to admire him. It is to follow his example. To make our own mark – our own stamp on the world. Because the greatest legacy any of us can leave is not fame. It is not victory. It is compassion.”

As Chief of Compassion, Cohen will focus on embedding compassion across the Center’s programs and partnerships, supporting coherence between its domestic and international work, and helping translate Ali’s moral leadership into practical frameworks that can be activated at scale. The role is intentionally cross-Center and externally facing, reflecting the growing global interest in compassion as a foundation for leadership, trust, and cooperation.

Cohen has worked closely with the Muhammad Ali Center for several years through his leadership of the Muhammad Ali Index, which began as a U.S. pilot and is now expanding nationally and internationally. The Index provides a research-based lens on how compassion is experienced and expressed in everyday life, offering insights for cities, institutions, and leaders seeking to strengthen social cohesion. Readers can learn more about the Index team and its work here.

“Ali showed us that there is nothing more important in life than how you make people feel,” said Cohen. “In divisive times, it’s easy to lose hope and ask, ‘How can we change the world?’ Well, when we practice compassion – for ourselves and each other – we rediscover our agency and set in motion a chain reaction that really can change the world.”

The appointment comes at a significant moment for the Muhammad Ali Center, as it prepares to announce the next phase of its national and international compassion work and deepen partnerships with academic, corporate, civic, and philanthropic institutions around the world. It also builds on the Center’s ongoing collaboration with the Muhammad Ali Global Peace Laureate, whose work exemplifies Ali’s commitment to peace, dignity, and human connection.

As the Center looks toward 2026 and beyond, the creation of the Chief of Compassion role underscores its commitment to carrying Muhammad Ali’s legacy forward – not only by honoring his past, but by applying his values to the challenges of the present and the promise of the future.