Samantha (Sami) Noble joined ACH in October 2023 as ACH’s first director of membership and grassroots advocacy. She brings a deep background in social work and public policy, which have equally impacted her career as a human rights advocate. Across the different nonprofits she has worked for, Sami developed guidelines on weapon ordinance and land mine removal. She worked on workforce development programming aimed at survivors of sex trafficking in Costa Rica, led a scholarship program on international diplomacy and civic engagement for teenagers in different countries in the Caribbean and Latin America, and supported organized movements of former political prisoners promoting human rights, electoral transparency, justice, and democracy in Central America. Sami’s passion for human rights and social justice is at the heart of everything she does, and she loves supporting our members who care for those most in need and at risk in the United States.
Sami recently achieved her goal of becoming a Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker in the State of Virginia. She attributes her inspiration to work towards this milestone to her experience at ACH, where the leadership encouraged and supported her in taking the exam, which she passed. Sami expressed her excitement, stating, “I can now proudly say I’m a social worker, focusing on health advocacy – what an amazing thing to be able to say!”
Growing ACH’s Membership Network
In her role at ACH, Sami will be visiting 30 health centers in 20 states over the next year. Her goal is to gain a deeper understanding of the unique perspectives of community health centers in primary care. Along the way, she aims to learn how to further support ACH members through future programming and collaborations, as well as facilitate connections among ACH’s health center leaders.
Sami said, “As Membership Director, my philosophy is that if I do my job well, our members feel more supported and connected – without ever seeing the person ‘behind the curtain’ (maybe I’m thinking of the new Wicked movie!). The five members of our Membership Committee are integral to my work – they help me understand the needs and challenges of members and help me also understand what makes ACH special and unique to prospective members.”
Building Health Center Advocates of the Future
Sami helped lead ACH’s Health Center Week of Action in August and added that the nominations for the David B. Vliet Changemaker Award, which honors growing community advocates who are advancing health equity in their communities while providing exceptional patient care, was personally inspiring. She’s already planning for Health Center Week of Action 2025 and plans to have a grassroots advocacy intern to continue the cycle of future changemakers. She summarized it by saying ACH is paying tribute to the pioneers in the Health Center Program and acknowledging those leading the path forward.
“I’m so proud of the voice that ACH has in the primary care / public health advocacy space – and as our membership grows, I’m inspired by the ever growing, diverse list of health centers who lead our work,” said Sami. “While their patient populations and state climates are different, our members’ commitment to our mission drives my work.”
Also driving Sami’s work is inspiring the future health care workforce and providing opportunities for college students to consider a career in health policy and community health where Sami launched ACH’s first summer internship program. Intern Corina Mills is finishing up her time at ACH and beyond the impact she made, Corina learned firsthand about primary care, CHCs, and now wishes to pursue this in her career trajectory as a doctor.
To connect with Sami and learn more about membership, grassroots advocacy, or ACH’s internship program, please email her at snoble@advocatesforcommunityhealth.org.