Sam’s career began in online media and publishing, where he started out as a blogger.

Deeply passionate about progressive, world-changing media, he went on to work as both an editor and journalist for platforms like Everyday Feminism, RESIST Media, and most recently, Upworthy.

Much of Sam’s work has explored mental health and queer/trans identity. Drawing from personal experience, as well as his academic background in the social sciences, Sam’s style is easily recognizable. His commitment to nuanced, vulnerable, and accessible storytelling has come to define his work.

Sam is perhaps best known for his platform Let’s Queer Things Up!, a blog navigating the complexities of queerness and disability. Since first going viral in 2014, LQTU has readers in over 180+ countries, and has been used as an educational resource in communities and universities across the country.

His work has since been featured in publications like The New York Times, Huffington Post, Everyday Feminism, Rewire, Unapologetic Feminism, Wear Your Voice Magazine, The Establishment, and many more.

Sam currently works full-time as an editor/writer at Upworthy, a digital platform focusing on social good. Upworthy harnesses viral storytelling to “change what the world pays attention to” and is considered one of the fastest growing media sites of all time. Sam’s work at Upworthy focuses on content collaboration between partners and progressive organizations and activists.

In addition to his work at Upworthy, Sam freelances as a journalist and consults as a digital media strategist for marginalized writers breaking into the publishing industry.

In 2016, Sam worked as Editorial Coordinator and a Staff Writer at Everyday Feminism, one of the most popular digital feminist magazines in the world. Sam also served as an Associate Editor at RESIST Media and Editorial Assistant at The Body Is Not an Apology.

Sam is also an engaging speaker who travels to universities around the US to share his experiences as a transgender and psychiatrically disabled person. Sam’s appearances have included a keynote at the University of California-Irvine sponsored by Active Minds and a lecture at Princeton University, discussing themes around self-love and mental illness.

Born and raised in Michigan, Sam earned two bachelor’s degrees in Anthropology and Women’s & Gender Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn – graduating summa cum laude – as well as receiving a Certificate in Writing with a focus on Writing in the Public Sphere.

Sam currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he can often be found dancing to embarrassing pop music and plotting for the imminent queer takeover (shhh, we’ve already said too much).