Welcome to the team Sam!
We are thrilled to have you join our wonderful board and can’t wait to learn more about you.
Can you start off by telling us a little bit about yourself?
After growing up in Colorado and Idaho, I made my way to Bellingham to attend Western Washington University, where I studied Economics and Spanish. At WWU, I also had the opportunity to work in the Admissions Office, where I started to learn about access (and barriers) to higher education. Since graduating, I have worked at the Whatcom Community Foundation, where my role spans from hunger relief, to impact investing, to children's savings accounts. I'm excited to be a part of the FuturesNW board and to work to improve educational access and economic empowerment.
What is one piece of advice you wish you could have given your college self in hindsight?
Go to office hours, meet your professors, and get to know people in your classes. My biggest mistake in college was trying to be too independent and not ask for help. Even when that strategy worked out for me, I still missed chances to connect with people that I could have built relationships with.
What would your friends and family say is your biggest strength, or what do they love most about you?
I hope they love my sense of humor! Or, at least I hope they can tolerate it. And, I think my biggest strength is to 'lead from behind', i.e. to keep things moving regardless of how small or big, glamorous or not, the task is.
What are you most looking forward to as a board member for FuturesNW?
While I love the big-picture and behind-the-scenes work that I get to do on a daily basis, I miss connecting and working directly with students and families. I'm excited for opportunities to work directly with folks; to share my experiences; and to learn from the experiences of the folks that FuturesNW works with.
Thanks so much Sam for sharing! We are so excited and delighted to have you on our board!
the FuturesNW team