Areas of Expertise
Samantha Porter can immediately recall the exact moment her career trajectory transitioned to a path that would better allow her to directly give back to and build her community: After taking just two days to read Whatever It Takes, a book detailing the work by the Harlem Children’s Zone to radically reform how children in Harlem are raised and educated, she was inspired to start graduate school in pursuit of a Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) — a move that shifted her career focus to public services and community development.
Now, as the Philadelphia Fed’s senior manager and advisor of community engagement, Samantha leverages her education and personal experiences to lead work that promotes economic growth in low- and moderate-income communities and improving access to opportunity in underserved communities across the Third District.
Prior to joining the Bank, Samantha worked for the City of Philadelphia in roles that increased equity, reduced poverty, and built communities through place-based approaches. Among her most notable work, she led the West Philadelphia Promise Zone initiative, focused on bringing greater opportunity to the community by connecting residents to high-quality education, family-sustaining jobs, affordable housing, and more.
She also has extensive disaster relief experience, having worked for the State of New Jersey to support Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts, including leading the design and implementation of a housing recovery program specifically for low- to moderate-income homeowners affected by the storm.
A proud resident of Philadelphia, she earned her M.P.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and has a bachelor of arts in political science and German from Temple University.