Cole: What would you say is the primary motivating factor behind your leadership? Samuels: Service to people, communities and society. My entire career has been focused on service that creates lasting change for people, families and communities. Cole: Who are your role models, and what life- changing lessons did you pick up from them? Samuels: Just about everyone of my bosses have been role models and mentors to me throughout my career. The majority have been women. I have learned something different from each one of them. My career has been defined by these lessons. From them I learned everything from how to extend grace, to how to be politically astute, to the indisputable value of building and maintaining relationships. For those mentors, my value as a human being came first (before my
value to them as a professional), and I know that way of approaching others has really rubbed off on me.
Cole: What inspired you to pursue a career in the nonprofit field, and how did you get started? Samuels: My first job was in the private sector. I worked for the Rocky Mountain McDonald’s Owner-Operators. Although I loved being involved in their advertising, what I loved more was being able to support them in their individual community relations goals. That’s really how it all got started. I think it was valuable for me to pay close attention to the things that I was doing for work that brought me joy and allowed me to learn. If I had not been paying attention to how I felt about the things that I love doing and the things I hated doing, I might have missed what my true purpose is.
Photo: McBoat Photography
22 The Acumen
Powered by FlippingBook