Sam is a unique hybrid of academic expertise and campaign experience, with a history of working to empower community voices. He’s particularly interested in the role that organizing and communications play in how communities build social and political power.
He’s an educator, organizer, communicator, and skilled facilitator/wrangler of coalitions.
Over a decade ago he and his wife moved to Alaska, where he promptly jumped into a leadership role in one of the largest conservation battles of our time: the fight for Bristol Bay against the Pebble Mine. Since then he has also directed a campaign against a mega-dam, successfully protecting one of the largest remaining undammed rivers in North America. He has experience working on ballot measures and state legislative campaigns, where he learned more than he ever wanted about campaign finance laws and reporting. And yes, he’s still working to protect Bristol Bay.
In addition to his campaign work, he has taught Civic Engagement in the University of Alaska’s Center for Community Engagement and Learning and is an adjunct professor of Public Interest Communication in the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications online master’s program.
He holds a master’s degree from Syracuse University and a doctorate from the University of Florida in religious studies where he studied the intersection of storytelling, community values, and civic engagement. When not working, Sam can be found running. If he’s not running, he might be playing music or exploring skate parks with his kids.
