First Louisville native to serve as CEO of Muhammad Ali Center says it's his dream job

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The man who spearheaded the development of the Goodwill West Louisville Opportunity Campus is taking on a new challenge.

Just two months after the center opened, Devone Holt announced that he would be throwing in the towel to pursue an opportunity of his own: he has accepted a position as the president and CEO of the Muhammad Ali Center in downtown Louisville.

He was selected by the nonprofit museum and cultural center's board of directors to serve in the role. Holt was most recently the chief external affairs officer at Goodwill Industries of Kentucky. While serving in that role, Holt led the development of a $120 million Opportunity Campus.

"Once we cut the ribbons and the dust settled, it became clear to me that it was time to find my next challenge," Holt said.

It didn't take long for him to take on that new challenge, when he found out about the open position at the Muhammad Ali Center.

Holt described it as a Godsend.

"It just happened in a way that I think is divinely anointed and appointed for me to be here," Holt said.

Holt said he started his new job on July 9, and the next day he was on a plane with Lonnie Ali to attend the ESPN Humanitarian Awards and the ESPY awards.

He describes his time with Ali as magical.

"As much as the Champ was celebrated, it was amazing to walk into spaces with Lonnie and to see the respect and the appreciation that people give her," Holt said.

"DeVone emerged as someone with the passion and expertise to guide the Center into its next chapter," Lonnie Ali said.

Holt said celebrities and athletes at the awards program wanted to share their "Ali story" with him.

And Holt says he has a few of his own.

Like the time he was a student at King Elementary when the world's heavyweight champion decided to visit.

"He just showed up," Holt recalled. "And the school went crazy, and not just the students -- the teachers, the staff everybody -- went crazy."

Holt is the first Louisvillian to serve as president and CEO in the Museum's nearly 20-year history.

"I don't have to learn this job," Holt said. "I don't have to learn this man. I know what I have to do. Now all I have to do is walk in it."

Before news of his new role was made public, Holt said he spent some quiet time with the champ at his gravesite in Cave Hill Cemetery.

"I spent some time at his gravesite, and I felt like this is where I belong," he said

Holt said he aspires to build bridges from the community to the Ali Center, and hopes to use the center's influence to bring people together.

On July 18, Holt will receive another honor when 28th Street near the Opportunity Campus is renamed in his honor.

Holt is a Louisville native and graduated from Eastern Kentucky University. He has almost 30 years of experience in public relations, brand management, government affairs, strategic communications and fundraising.

Prior to Goodwill, Holt served as national director of customer engagement for ResCare Workforce Services and special assistant to the superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools.

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