Shanna Samson currently serves as Deputy Director for Mayor Bowser’s Office of Out of School Time and Youth Outcomes in Washington D.C. In this role, she manages District-wide initiatives focused on streamlining out of school time services across government agencies and oversees the administration of over $25 million in annual grant awards to nonprofit organizations serving vulnerable youth.

Previously, Shanna served as an administrator for eleven years with Alexandria City Public Schools’ Office of Community Partnerships and Engagement, where she developed multiple district-wide initiatives, including Family and Community Engagement and LINK Club afterschool programs. Shanna hails from St. Louis, where she worked in nonprofit management for the St. Louis Black Leadership Roundtable and the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, which included administration of a tri-county, bi-state, Head Start program. She has an M.A. in American Cultural Studies and an M.S.W. in Community-based Social Work from St. Louis University. She is a proud mom of one daughter, Indigo, a 2024 graduate of Alexandria City High School and current student at UVA. She is passionate about social justice and equity work and hopes to leave the world a little better than she found it.