Samy Figaredo

 Samy (he/him, they/them) is a proud multi-hyphenate: Lebanese-American, Puerto Rican, transgender activist, arts administrator, grantwriter, performer, public speaker, and more. Samy began their non-profit career in 2010 at Strathmore, a music and culture venue in the Washington, DC area. In 2013, they accepted a position in Foundation & Government Development at WETA, one of the largest Public Broadcasting Stations in the country. By 2015, Samy was pursuing the arts full-time, using their skills as a fundraiser to produce their own work.

As an activist, Samy has served on the leadership teams of the DC Area Transmasculine Society, the Baltimore Transgender Alliance, and the Charm City Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. They organized social outreach, coordinated events and marches, and aided in fundraising. Some of the organizations to benefit from these efforts include HIPS DC, Moveable Feast, Youth Empowered Society, Sistas of the “T,” and Brother Help Thyself.

Upon moving to New York City in 2018, Samy participated in the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute’s Innovative Cultural Advocacy fellowship. They then went on to complete a residency at TED, which culminated in a TED Talk on the importance of transgender history.

Samy is also a Transgender, Gender Non-conforming, and Non-binary Inclusivity Trainer at the Ackerman Institute’s Gender & Family Project. They have participated in both local and national ad campaigns to promote awareness of LGBTQ+ issues. In all of their endeavors, Samy is driven to show LGBTQ+ People of Color that love, support, and resources exist for them; and more specifically, to be an accomplice in accessing that capital to enrich their lives.

For more information, visit www.samyfigaredo.com.