Sam is a blogger, editor, speaker, and media strategist based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sam is perhaps best known for his blog, Let’s Queer Things Up!. Tapping into his lived experience, as well as his academic background in the social sciences, LQTU has been regarded as a vital resource in the conversation about mental health and queer identity.

Sam is currently an Editor and Writer at Upworthy, a progressive media platform that focuses on social good. As part of the content collaborations team, much of Sam’s work focuses on helping brand partners find their unique niche in social impact spaces, connecting them with organizations and activists that are changing the world for the better.

In this role, Sam has had the privilege of crafting content that defies everything we imagine “sponsored” content to mean. He’s spotlighted revitalization efforts in a historic Kentucky neighborhood, featured a woman-led tech company on the cutting edge of diversifying tech, and celebrated historic queer traditions like Southern Decadence in New Orleans, allowing partners to tell authentic and empowering stories.

Sam also believes in bringing resources directly to communities. As a public speaker, he’s traveled across the country, presenting on topics around transgender identity, mental health, social justice, and more.

He has also established a speaker series and peer-led support group, “Witness,” hoping to reduce suicide rates among queer and transgender people in his local community. In his spare time, he also volunteers as a mentor to LGBTQ+ people hoping to break into the publishing industry.

Whether it’s a breakdown of conservative legal tactics for Rewire, a harrowing personal essay about being psychiatrically hospitalized for The Establishment, a compelling profile on fat activist and author Jes Baker for Upworthy, or consulting experts on the impact of complex trauma on memory for Headspace, Sam is driven to find new and ambitious ways to tell stories for good — and just damn good stories.

Sam holds a BA in Anthropology, a certificate in Writing in the Public Sphere, and a BA in Women’s & Gender Studies from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He also pursued postgraduate studies in Creative Non-Fiction at Mills College in Oakland, CA.

His academic background has given him unique expertise in making the social sciences more accessible to digital audiences.

He currently resides in Berkeley, CA, where he likes to imagine himself reading books when he’s definitely playing Nintendo instead. He lives with his partner, Ray, and their 17 lb cat, Pancake, who is as goofy and lovable as his name suggests.