Sammy Miller serves as the Head of Musical Events at the Counter Extremism Project. He previously served as Senior Director of Music Programming at the Kennedy Center. With over a decade of programming experience, Miller has built programs for prominent brands including FIFA World Cup, Ralph Lauren, First Republic Bank, Club Monaco, Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg, Lincoln Center, The Whitney Museum, and PepsiCo.

A Juilliard-trained jazz drummer who performed on a Grammy-nominated album, Miller has been hailed by The Wall Street Journal as “the perfect player scholar.” His band, Sammy Miller and the Congregation, is known for its high-energy, joyful approach to jazz and has performed at prestigious venues including the Newport Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Miller has lectured at Carnegie Hall, UC Santa Barbara, Texas Tech, and numerous music education conferences. His writings on music, culture, and education have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and CNN. He has also delivered a TEDx talk on escaping overly rigid approaches to music in favor of creativity, improvisation, and generosity. Through performance, education, and programming, Miller is a tireless advocate for music that fosters community, joy, and connection.