Nicoleen Willson

Director, Office of Arts and Innovation

Oversees all co-curricular student arts groups activities, co-curricular arts programming on the Homewood Campus, arts spaces and facilities, Hopkins Symphony Orchestra, and the Digital Media Center.

Nicoleen Willson was appointed as Director of Homewood Arts Programs, now Office of Arts and Innovation, in July 2020 after serving in the interim position the year prior. Nicoleen began at Johns Hopkins in 2011 as the Hopkins Symphony General Manager, and prior to that worked with orchestras including the National Symphony Orchestra and the Eugene Symphony.

Originally from Los Angeles, Nicoleen has lived throughout the U.S. earning degrees in Clarinet Performance and Arts Administration at the University of Michigan (BM), Baylor University (MM), and the University of Oregon (DMA,) in addition to earning a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Oregon. She is a member of Arts Administrators in Higher Education and served as the Executive Chair in 2023.

Dr. Willson’s primary areas of interest and research include performing arts management, board governance, and teaching artists. Specifically, she seeks to develop and employ models of arts management that spur collaboration between artists, administrators, board members, and the community. Nicoleen is also a certified mediator.

Dr. Willson lives in Baltimore, MD with her husband, who plays horn in the United States Navy Band, and their daughter.