An entrepreneur first, Samira is the President of Purposeful World Strategies, which helps cities and countries identify, incubate, and ignite their entrepreneurs and small business owners by creating structures for inclusive entrepreneurship and small business support. She has a global heart and is fully committed to gender and race equity. Her women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship work have also taken her to numerous countries as a speaker, facilitator, trainer, and consultant for governments, organizations, and universities in Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific Islands, Latin America and the Caribbean.

In honor of her work with small businesses, Samira was selected as a White House Champion for Change in the area of entrepreneurship mentoring under the Obama Administration. She has served in numerous volunteer leadership roles, and currently supports the Washington Area Community Investment Fund’s (WACIF) Enterprising Women of Color Advisory Board, the Association for Enterprise Opportunity’s (AEO) Tapestry Innovation Registry Cohort which supports Black-owned businesses and is a member of the International Economic Development Council.

A native New Jerseyan and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Samira received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and her MPA from The George Washington University in Washington, DC.