Sam has over 20 years of experience as a facilitator, program leader, instructional designer, and coach with a history of working in the learning and development sector. Since 2000, he has customized innovative leadership development solutions for top organizations while contributing to the broader movement towards societal advancement.
Sam takes a shared leadership approach to engage his teams to effectively collaborate and successfully deliver myriad learning and development (L&D) initiatives. He oversees programs that range from multi-year ongoing learning programs to one-time workshops. As a “big picture” leader, he values strategic, critical thinking and an iterative design approach to advance initiatives that remain relevant to an organization's key objectives and performance indicators (KPIs). His experience allows him to draw on a variety of L&D best practices and methodologies, which include detailed discovery and stakeholder co-design, innovative blended learning, learner-centered implementation, and research-caliber evaluation. With nearly 20 years of experience as a trainer, Sam is an adept facilitator that engages participants in experiential learning, boundary-spanning, “goal-ing”, and meaningful learning that professionals can readily apply to their work and personal lives.
Sam brings with him an array of subject matter expertise, both in theory and in practice, for leadership development at the individual-, group-, organizational-, and societal-level. He specializes in facilitating mid-level, early-career, and pre-professional individuals. Over the last five years, he has added to his versatility in the “classroom” by becoming an exemplar in virtual learning environments.
Facilitator and Instructional Designer
Learning & Development Specialist
Leadership solutions for individuals, teams, and organizations
Data-driven discovery, strategic planning, and evaluation
Curriculum design and delivery
Experienced facilitation methodology
Blended learning approach, including the use of experiential and action learning, psychometric assessments, and online, asynchronous tools
Coaching and career consultation
Prosocial-centered development, including equity, diversity, and inclusion
Client and project management savvy
Sam joined the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, NC as part of the College & University Programs team in 2014. Since 2016, he has served out of CCL’s San Diego, CA campus as a Leadership Solutions Facilitator within the Societal Advancement group. This group is committed to organizational and leadership development across four sectors: population health, nonprofits, education, and e-learning. Though he supports work in all areas, he specializes in Higher Education because of his background in university administration and student affairs. His responsibilities include business development, client relations, instructional design, facilitation, and evaluation. Two signature programs he has created and continues to direct include the year-round coaching-based leadership solutions for the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation and the McGowan Charitable Fund. Beyond the expectations of his role, Sam has focused on expanding CCL’s Societal Advancement presence and portfolio work in the region, he has supported open enrollment programs and custom training for CCL global markets, he engages in process improvements, and has engaged in his continued education and professional development as a way to bring greater value to his organization.
Before joining the Center, Sam advanced his experience in student leader development at several institutes of higher education, including UC San Diego, UC Berkeley, UC Los Angeles, and the University of San Francisco. His service has spanned the efforts of directing emerging leader programs, developing campus-wide initiatives for student leader development, and stewarding institutional best practices around leadership education. Sam has steered innovations in student development programming including several campus-wide initiatives that have contributed to the way university staff and students align their efforts to bring about greater impacts on their campuses and in their broader community.
Sam has nearly 20 years of expertise designing and delivering experiential learning engagements for professionals and students. He is also certified training in EDI, MBTI®, 4MAT®, PACT®, WPB5®, Organizational Workshop®, FIRO-B®, CSI®, ISI®, as well as the suite of assessments covered in CCL’s Assessment Certification Workshop. Sam also completed his coach training at CCL.
Sam received his Masters of Education with foci in Student Affairs and International Higher Education from UCLA, as well as a Masters of Science in Urban Management with a focus on participatory planning from Technische Universität Berlin (Germany). He also holds a B.Sc. in Biology with a minor in Psychology from UC San Diego.
Sam has cultivated a vast professional network, especially within the L&D, Higher Ed and nonprofit sectors. He values meaningful relationships across the globe. Additionally, he engages in professional service opportunities.