Samantha (aka Sam) comes from a small town in rural Arkansas, the state where she spent the first 24.5 years of her life. She has always been passionate about photography and the idea of telling people's stories. This led her to pursue a Studio Arts degree at Hendrix University in undergrad. She specialized in photography and pottery but fell in love with gardening. Post-graduation, Sam spent six months volunteering at Heifer Ranch, a teaching farm for Heifer International located in Perryville, AR. She then joined Americorps VISTA to work on school gardening and nutrition programs, which she enjoyed for almost three years. 

Sam then moved to North Carolina where she worked on a therapy farm for six months. Those six months taught her many skills that she utilized during her Peace Corps service, which immediately followed. She served in Togo from 2016-2018 as an Environmental Action and Food Security (EAFS) volunteer. Her service included a variety of projects across the three sectors that still operate in Togo: environment, health, and education. She also had the pleasure of working with a great partner at her school who is now her husband. 

Since returning from the Peace Corps, Sam has continued working in the public service domain. Briefly, she was an Africa Fellow with the Global Fund for Children where she was able to use her French skills to communicate with francophone partners. Last summer, she accepted a position with the Agricultural Marketing Services within the USDA. In this role, she purchases dried fruit and nuts for the government to be distributed through food banks and school lunches. She is also currently working towards a Masters of Public Administration at American University. 

RPCV/W served as the platform that Sam used to meet people when she first moved to D.C. in September 2018. Through the organization, she was able to meet many people she now calls friends, network with potential colleagues, and feel more at home in a new city. In January 2019, she started helping Charlotte with occasional communications tasks-- an experience that led Sam to apply for the position of Communications Director. Sam is very excited to be leading the charge to connect you to RPCV/W and hopes to get members more involved throughout the year. She has already assembled a strong Communications Committee to assist in increasing comms efforts. If you're also interested in helping out occasionally, feel free to reach out ([email protected])!