Prior to co-founding Heartland, Sam served as Associate Director of the Human Rights Program at The Carter Center, which included mining and human rights programming in Democratic Republic of Congo. Sam previously managed community development programs in Iraq and Jordan and led assessment missions to Israel-Palestine, Lebanon, and Afghanistan for Counterpart International. Sam also worked for American Near East Refugee Aid in the Gaza Strip. He earned his master’s degree in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University’s School of International Service. Sam is a native of western North Carolina and a graduate of the University of North Carolina-Asheville.