Lonnie Ali Champions Compassion at Concordia Annual Summit

10.07.26

Lonnie Ali Champions Compassion in Action at the Concordia Annual Summit

During UN General Assembly Week in New York City, the Muhammad Ali Center’s Co-Founder, President & CEO shares how individuals, educators, and civic leaders can strengthen trust by turning compassion into a daily practice.

NEW YORK (October 7, 2026) — Lonnie Ali, Co-Founder, President and CEO of the Muhammad Ali Center, brought Muhammad Ali’s enduring message of compassion to the global stage on September 21 at the 2026 Concordia Annual Summit in New York City.

Appearing in the session “Leading with Compassion: Rebuilding Trust in a Divided World,” Ali joined moderator Hanne LeCount, Executive Director of Concordia, for a timely conversation during United Nations General Assembly Week. Together, they explored how compassion can help counter polarization, declining trust, and growing social fragmentation and how leaders can translate empathy into measurable action.

Measuring Compassion and Strengthening It

The conversation highlighted the Muhammad Ali Index, the Center’s research-and-action platform for understanding, measuring, and strengthening compassion in everyday life.

The inaugural 2025 Compassion Report surveyed 12 U.S. cities and found that Americans felt compassion has declined over the last four years, despite a nearly 4,000% increase in compassion-related online searches.

“Even though compassion was on the decline, people felt that they wanted to be part of that, especially with the polarization and in the huge divides that our country is having, and has extended not just here, but globally as well. So that’s what the next report will talk about.”

Next year, the Muhammad Ali Index will expand internationally, examining 20 major American cities while also broadening to communities around the world, from North America and Europe to Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and beyond. The research, which will be released in early 2027, will broaden the Ali Center’s understanding of compassion across cultures and regions while giving civic leaders practical insights they can use to strengthen trust, belonging, and participation.

Compassion Is an Action Word

Throughout the discussion, Ali returned to a central idea: Compassion must be understood as an “action word,” not simply a feeling.

It becomes meaningful through daily choices, including greeting someone warmly, listening with patience, offering help, or showing grace during a frustrating moment. These actions may appear small, but their effect grows through repetition.

Her challenge to leaders was direct: Begin each morning by committing to at least one intentional act of kindness. Leadership rooted in compassion does not require waiting for a major initiative or public moment. It begins with how people choose to treat one another every day.

Preparing the Next Generation to Lead

Ali also discussed how the Muhammad Ali Center is translating these values into educational and leadership programming. The Ali Center works with educators, community leaders, students, and professionals to cultivate courageous leadership grounded in Muhammad Ali’s core principles.

With support from the PwC Foundation, the Ali Center is developing a national model designed to equip approximately 13,500 students and 30 faculty members with enduring human and professional skills. The work reflects a shared belief that as technology reshapes education and employment, qualities such as empathy, communication, collaboration, confidence, and principled leadership will become even more essential.

“Our purpose is to inspire greatness,” said Ali. “We want to give educators and the next generation the tools to help cultivate compassion, not just in the community, but in their own particular environment, whether that’s in a classroom, in a school, in an office, or in their companies.”

A Legacy That Continues to Move

The conversation also looked toward new opportunities to share Muhammad Ali’s life and humanitarian legacy with audiences around the world.

The Ali Center recently announced legendary NFL quarterback, civil rights activist and entrepreneur Colin Kaepernick will receive the ​Muhammad Ali Center’s Humanitarian of the Year award in Louisville as part of their annual Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards ‌on November 7.

“We chose Colin for his work that he has done in communities that he and his foundation works in, but also because he exemplifies a person who made sacrifice – real sacrifice – to stand on his principles,” said Ali.