Meet the Herd: Sam

Meet our Community Education Lead Sam! She shares what she loves most about her unique role, her passion for learning and education, and so much more.

Q: Tell us about your role as Community Education Lead at the Zebra Centre?

Sam: My role is to go out to the community and share all of the really important work we do at the Zebra Centre, as well as the preventative and informative info about topics we have related to Zebra. I present on things like how to recognise and respond to abuse disclosures, online safety, and general personal safety for kids. I also develop or find our educational resources that we have here at Zebra. I maintain our digital resource library (HERE), and I keep my eye out for interesting training or information for the staff at Zebra. I also help maintain our YouTube channel, and help the rest of the engagement team with their roles as needed. 

Q: What does a typical “day in the life” as Community Education Lead look like?

Sam: There is no typical day in my role and it’s one of my favourite things about my job! Some days I am in the Centre, in my office or having meetings. Other days I’m in schools talking with students, staff, or parents. Sometimes I am out at events, talking at conferences, or working remotely. I love that very rarely are two of my days the same. 

Q: What do you love most about your role?

Sam: I love that I have the opportunity to follow things I am passionate about learning. I can run with ideas and projects while my team cheers me on. If I find something that would be really helpful to people, I have the flexibility to dive into many different projects. For example, I have done a lot of learning around the new challenges of AI for exploitation of kids online and now can share that information in my cyber safety presentations and hand out resources (HERE). 

Q: What is your proudest moment at the Zebra Centre so far?

Sam: I have had the opportunity to be a part of so many cool things here at Zebra. Recently I wrote a blog about having hard conversations around abuse and sexual exploitation with kids that I am really proud of. You can check it out HERE. 

Q: What motivates you to show your stripes (your why)?

Sam: Prior to joining Zebra, I served as an educator. My career aspirations have consistently centered on roles that enable me to help others. The wisdom of Fred Rogers often resonates with me during challenging times: "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping'." In my current capacity at Zebra, I am privileged to embody that spirit of being a helper.

Q: Lastly, share a surprising or fun fact about you.
Sam: I am a multimedia artist, which mostly means I get bored and like to constantly try out new mediums! One time I sculpted an eye entirely out of old car parts and bondo. The pupal is a sealed clear tub of dirty motor oil. I really enjoy india ink, watercolour, acrylic, and charcoal though and I find myself coming back to those four mediums often.