Samantha E. Harper

Samantha is responsible for implementing the strategic fundraising and communications goals of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health.

She comes to NLIRH with 15 years of experience within the feminist and social justice movements, from direct service work to communications to development.  Prior to NLIRH, Samantha worked at the Applied Research Center and at Legal Momentum, where she used various technologies, media sources, and fundraising tools to solicit donations, cultivate supporters, and engage communities and stakeholders.   In 2006, Samantha was a Policy and Advocacy Intern at NLIRH. Before that she worked at domestic and dating violence legal clinics, pregnancy and HIV/AIDS clinics, a homeless shelter for women, and a civil rights legal organization.  Samantha is also personally committed to coalition efforts to advance social, economic, and reproductive justice.  She was active with the New York City Latina Advocacy Network from 2006-2009 and was on the Advisory Committee of the New York City Collaborative for Fairness and Equity in Philanthropy.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Samantha is an Afro-Latina and product of two Central American immigrants. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Women's History from Sarah Lawrence College, where she received the prestigious Gerda Lerner Award. Samantha’s Master’s Thesis is titled Slavery's Echo on the Lives of Erotic Laborers: Racism, Stigma, and the Politics of Respectability. Samantha also holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees, in Psychology and Women's Studies, as well as a certificate in Spanish from the University of Maryland, College Park. In addition to her scholar-activism, Samantha also danced professionally for six years, teaching and performing nationally and internationally, and she was a self-employed web designer and graphic designer for those six years. When Samantha is not working, she enjoys spending time with her new husband, traveling, dancing, kickboxing and capoeira.