San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) has named Samantha Leo as the Vice President of Advancement, and Arts Consulting Group (ACG) extends its congratulations on her leadership appointment. She began her tenure on October 23, 2024.
SFCM’s mission is to transform students: artistically, intellectually, professionally, and individually. Through the study of music at the highest level, SFCM students learn to seek achievement in every endeavor, to convert challenges into opportunities, to understand the nature of excellence, and to pursue their dreams with vigor and determination. SFCM offers studies in undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate programs, as well as pre-college and continuing education programs. Serving close to 500 collegiate students, the student body is diverse, representing 21 countries and 38 U.S. States. Students benefit from a 3:1 student-teacher ratio and the opportunity to study with world-renowned artists, including 39 members of the San Francisco Symphony, Opera, and Ballet orchestras as well as the SFJAZZ Collective. The SFCM Pre-College Program integrates private lessons with musicianship courses, small and large ensemble experiences, master classes, jury assessments, and performance opportunities with the goal of making music a core part of children’s lives. Each year SFCM presents almost 600 free student concerts and other live events at its campus in San Francisco. The Conservatory’s Civic Center campus consists of the Ann Getty Center for Education and the state-of-the-art Ute and William K. Bowes Jr. Center for Performing Arts nearby. This vertical campus, which opened in 2021, reimagines the model for a modern conservatory following the incorporation of a unique curriculum designed to equip students for lifelong success in any endeavor.
Prior to joining SFCM, Leo served as Chief Philanthropy Officer at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), where she was responsible for leading all areas of the Philanthropy program to achieve ambitious revenue targets totaling more than $30 million annually. Leo introduced numerous entrepreneurial fundraising initiatives, most recently the Art of Today Annual Exhibition Fund and the Next Generation Art Bash.
ACG is the leading provider of hands-on interim management, executive search, revenue enhancement, strategic planning & community engagement, and facilities & program planning and research services for the arts and culture industry. ACG consultants are located in communities across the United States and Canada to best serve the needs of our clients. ACG team members have decades of combined senior leadership experience in every artistic and cultural discipline and area of functional management expertise.