Sam joins Solve from the world of education philanthropy. For the last five years she’s been a key member of the Education team at the Barr Foundation, a private regional foundation located in Boston. At Barr, she helped develop and execute the strategy of two investment portfolios and managed over 50 grantee relationships within its Education Program focused on advancing initiatives that connect students to success in high school and beyond. 

She began her career at EF Education First in Cambridge, MA, where she provided targeted consulting and training support for educators implementing immersive global travel experiences for their students. Sam holds a Master of Public Policy (MPP) degree from The Heller School for Social Policy and Nonprofit Management at Brandeis University, where she concentrated on children, youth, and family policy, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from Bates College.

Sam is from a small town outside of Boston (near the start of the Boston Marathon), and now lives in the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown with her husband. She loves traveling, trying new restaurants and recipes, playing on her co-ed soccer team, skiing in Utah, reading historical fiction novels, and volunteering in a second grade Boston Public Schools’ classroom. She is passionate about elevating underserved communities and driving positive social change and looks forward to contributing to a movement that is committed to innovatively solving global challenges.