Samantha (Sam) Wechsler joined the Institute for Policy Studies in November 2013 as the Associate Director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good. Before joining the staff of IPS, Samantha served as the Executive Director of Bikes Not Bombs, where she initiated and oversaw a major organizational turnaround.
From 2005-2007, Samantha lived in Guatemala, where she founded and directed Voces de Cambio (Voices of Change), an all-girls after-school writing and photography program designed to combat racism, discrimination, and machismo. She has held leadership positions in City Government; has worked in varying capacities (fundraising, program development, grant making, public policy and research, project management, and direct service) to contribute to the expansion and improvement of programming for children and youth; has worked as a consultant to non-profit organizations in the areas of resource development, strategic planning, event coordination, board development, and workshop development and facilitation; and provides coaching to non-profit executives. A devoted practitioner of Vipassana meditation, Samantha is particularly interested in the intersection between spirituality and social justice.