Meet Samantha Reed

Samantha Reed meets the president she helped elect

Editor's note: Next in our series of board member profiles is Samantha Reed. She is our youngest board member, but also one of our veteran campaigners.

Like many recent grads, Board Member Samantha Reed has a job, a social life, and a Facebook page to maintain. Like many 22-year-olds, she got her first real taste of politics campaigning for President Obama. But unlike many young people caught up in Obama-mania, Samantha has maintained a deep, ongoing commitment to the day-in, day-out work of Democratic politics.

Samantha, who has been on the Democratic Party of Evanston board of directors since 2009, first got involved during the summer of 2008 when she was campus coordinator for the Northwestern chapter of Students for Barack Obama. Rather than work on her tan while she awaited the return of students in the fall, she decided to volunteer with the local Democratic Party.

"As far as I'm concerned," says Executive Director Toni Gilpin, "Samantha was one of the many good things that came out of the Obama campaign. She walked into our office to help out and we've been fortunate to have her around ever since."

Samantha, who hails from Peru, Illinois, wanted to get involved with the Evanston community, which is why she decided to devote much of her time to the local Democratic Party rather than to a like-minded student organization.

"Many times college students see their four years as undergraduates as 'learning time' rather than 'doing time,' she says. "Rather than staying isolated in the campus bubble, it seemed more practical and useful to learn about political issues through the community lens of the local democratic organization.  I've learned much more about the issues facing Evanston, Illinois, and the nation from working alongside community members."

Samantha supports the Democratic party because it champions the issues that are important to her, such as maintaining and improving the social safety net with programs like Medicaid, Social Security and TANF. With a B.S. in Education with a concentration in Social Policy and a minor in Legal Studies, she is also committeed to improving public education from pre-K to college. Currently she is a fellow at Northwestern's Center for Civic Engagement and her next step is a three-month trip to Chile with a School for International Training program on Cultural Identity, Social Justice, and Community Development. Her future may eventually include law school, but wherever she goes you can count on political engagement. 

"Frankly, Samantha is kind of a 'politics' nerd," says Gilpin. "A great day for her would be to attend a health care rally in the morning, go door-to-door for a worthy candidate in the afternoon, complain about apathetic students over dinner, and then watch another episode of the 'West Wing' to wind down at the end of the day. We're really privileged that someone as young and lovely and talented as Samantha has been a part of our organization for years now."