Please join us in welcoming Samantha Akwei as our new Diversity and Pipeline Programs Director.

In this role, Samantha oversees JDC’s educational pipeline programs, including the School-to-College program, Law Academy, and the Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarship program.

She is excited about contributing to JDC’s legacy of advocating for equitable resources, making a difference in communities that need it most and creating visibility and just opportunities for women and people of color. You can meet Samantha at one of our many upcoming summer receptions.

Samantha is a public servant leader who is passionate about leadership development and social justice. Her first job serving at a food pantry at the age of ten became the catalyst to making service her life’s purpose. Her experience as an AmeriCorps tutor, workforce development coach to formerly incarcerated, environmental organizer and digital inclusion instructor has prepared her to lead and deepen how JDC remains relevant and progressive in addressing diverse issues to diverse communities.

Samantha sees diversity as less of a field to study but a practice to embody as our world becomes increasingly multicultural and globally disconnected. She is a proud product of immigrant parents and public school that led her to earn a BA in English from Spelman College and MPA from San Francisco State University.

Her hobbies include volunteering, exercising and writing and performing her poetry. Welcome, Samantha!

Learn more about JDC’s diversity educational programs and initiatives by visiting www.sfbar.org/diversity