Sam has been working in the nonprofit and governmental sector since 2017, with a focus on community-centered approaches to community violence and criminal justice. He graduated magnum cum laude from Yale University with a degree in Ethnicity, Race & Migration in 2019 and began his career at Brooklyn Justice Initiatives (BJI), a criminal justice services agency located in New York City, in 2020. After 5 years at BJI, he departed as the Associate Director of Compliance in 2025. As a project consultant for KYSCG, Sam has written and assisted with grants for a range of social service and advocacy organizations, preparing proposals for state, federal, and institutional funding opportunities. Sam first met Kiricka in the summer of 2018, when he served as her intern at the NC Council for Women and Youth Involvement (NCCFWYI).