Indigo K. Sams takes center stage at COCA

Written by Courtney Scott

A new act began at COCA when Indigo K. Sams took on the role of president and CEO this past February. Indigo’s warm and welcoming demeanor, along with her passion for the arts and the organization, make her a great fit. Sams is just the third person to take on the leading role at COCA, following former Executive Director Kelly Pollock and Founding Executive Director Stephanie Riven. 

Sams is no stranger to COCA. Having worked there for 16 years, starting in the early days, she is part of its DNA. She began while in college, working as an intern for Stephanie Riven. Back then, COCA hosted a lot of performing arts organizations and visual artists that used it for studio space. “There was so much great energy in this building with local artists coming and going,” recalls Sams. “Over time, the interest in dance classes grew and grew. Eventually, this place was hopping full of kids running to different classes, and the number of teachers increased as well.”

At the end of that initial summer internship, Riven asked Sams to stay on as her assistant since there was so much work to be done. Sams wore many hats, handling registration for classes, facility operations, and even helping in marketing. “Whatever needed to be done, the whole team that was here pitched in to do everything.”

Over time, as the organization began running at full steam, the team was able to break into specific roles. That is when Sams started her resource development career at COCA, mostly working to grow membership. She began working on the programming side as well and eventually created a scholarship program and established a protocol for awarding the scholarships. 

Sams, not one to shy away from rolling up her sleeves and completing any task, even drove kids from all over the city to classes at COCA. This need for transportation eventually led to a passenger bus with a hired driver. To this day, you can see the COCA bus throughout town.

“The joy and the bustling and the energy of the arts took over,” Sams said. By the time Sams left her long stint at COCA, she was the Director of Outreach. This meant she oversaw all external relationships and work in schools and the greater community, as well as the scholarship program. She was even overseeing the dance companies.

Sams left COCA to take a role at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater St. Louis. During her 17 years with the organization, she held three different vice president positions. When asked what accomplishments she was most proud of during her tenure there, she responded, “It would be the response that the Boys and Girls Club made to the community of Ferguson.” She specifically noted the building of the Teen Center of Excellence, a $12.4 million facility offering youth an array of after-school immersive educational programs. 

“I was able to help develop what that was going to look like,” says Sams. “I am proud of the work that is being done there and I think the team there is amazing and committed to that community.” 

Sams is also proud of how the organization branched out from just one location. “By the time I left, there were Boys and Girls Clubs in a lot of very important St. Louis communities, and also in Illinois with two locations as well as merging with Mathews-Dickey and the St. Louis Internship Program. I think that what’s important to the St. Louis community is how we can come together on like-minded work.” 

When asked what some of her priorities are as she begins her new role at COCA, Sams made it clear that supporting the staff is important to her. “There is an amazing group of people who work here. I want to make sure that this organization stays people-centered,” she said. “Happy people make the work happy, and happy work makes the community happy.”

“The board and the staff here did a remarkable job developing a strategic plan that we are about two years into executing. A lot of that plan is maximizing the utilization of this building; making sure everyone in the St. Louis area not only knows about COCA but has access to it,” stated Sams. She said that she will be focused on figuring out where the barriers are and how to overcome them.

Sams also wants to focus on maximizing the potential of the recently built state-of-the-art Catherine B. Berges Theatre. COVID put a damper on productions, but now that restrictions have decreased, Sams wants to broaden the audiences that come to see the great work being done on that stage. In addition, Sams is excited to expand the number of performance companies that partner with COCA. 

She noted that, of course, it takes money to drive the mission and that she would like to see the endowment continue to grow so that the work could grow with it. “COCA has a beautiful reputation for taking good care of the dollars given by people who support this organization. We want to continue that legacy,” she said.

Spring 2023 has been a busy time at COCA and for Sams, as she saw the first production staged and the first COCAcabana of her new role - although by no means the first she has experienced in her career with COCA. She reminisced on how COCAcabana has grown from a smaller street party that took place on Trinity Avenue to what it is today, being touted as the best party in town. She said that COCAcabana is special because the joy of the mission is apparent in all aspects of the fundraising event. 

“I love opening my office door and hearing the noise and excitement in the halls of COCA,” Sams said with a twinkle in her eye and a warm smile. “I love hearing the kids giggling as they are getting ready for pre-ballet and I get excited about walking the halls and hearing the parents chit-chat with each other as they watch their kids through the window. I love the enthusiasm I hear when the class is over and the teachers are saying, ‘thank you so much for coming to my class.’ That’s what I get excited about - just the pure joy that art can bring.”

Sams talked about students who used to attend classes in her early days who are now grown and still find a connection to COCA. She recently heard from a former student who, now in his forties and working in construction, decided to take up tap dancing again. This former student even formed a group that performs gigs on the side of his day job because it brings him joy. She loves the idea that it's something that is so special it sticks with them throughout life. She also has been a part of helping former students become professionals in the arts. “But what I like about COCA is all the people who don’t become professionals in this space and use the art to become a better person.”

“The beauty of coming back is realizing how much it has evolved and changed and looking at the work differently,” said Sams. “Art is supposed to inspire thought and change, and it’s definitely still a living thing in this building.”