Sam joined Ecas in July 2016 as the Befriending assistant. Originally from Bedfordshire in England, Sam gained a BSc in Disaster Management and Technology from the University of Birmingham in 2008, which led him into a career in disaster mitigation and humanitarian shelter work. This allowed him to live and work in India, Switzerland, France and Pakistan.
After meeting his partner at a music festival in Belgium, Sam settled down in England for a bit before relocating to Norway to initiate a career change by studying for a Masters in Community Work at Bergen University College. In 2013 he moved to Edinburgh, volunteering for a while before becoming a community worker for Carr Gomm for two years, running a befriending-style project.
Sam is passionate about working with people to gain more power over their daily lives, and to become more involved in their communities. He became a father in 2015 and in the little free time he has left listens to music (fast and loud), watches films (nothing too commercial), watches rugby (Saracens) and reads (sci-fi and radical politics).