Vice President, Brand Strategy

Hailing from sweet home Alabama, Sam joined our team as Vice President of Communications and Branding in 2019. With a decade of public relations, brand development and marketing experience, he leads communications strategy for our best-in-class drunk driving prevention and responsible drinking promotion efforts.

Responsibility.org first met Sam when Shaquille O’Neal visited the University of Alabama, Sam’s alma mater, to film a PSA for the “LessThanUThink” campaign. As the student representative alongside Shaq and Alabama’s then-Attorney General, Luther Strange, Sam was detail-oriented and passionate about responsibility. We offered him an internship, and he moved through the ranks to become Director of Communications and Digital Strategy in short order, helping shape much of our messaging and growth strategy and lead the creation of our “Responsibility Starts with Me” campaign.

In 2016, he left to start the marketing strategy division of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) — America’s leading advocate for manufacturers of all sizes and sectors — where he built NAM’s marketing team and infrastructure from scratch, lead go-to-market strategy development for non-dues revenue generation efforts and helped elevate the organization’s brand to better serve the millions of men and women who make things in our country.

His passion for helping people make smarter decisions about alcohol through cutting-edge, science-based educational programs and innovative communications campaigns ultimately led him back to Responsibility.org, where he leads a team of dedicated, talented professionals who have dedicated their careers to transforming and improving the way Americans view and address the issues of drunk driving, underage drinking and responsible alcohol consumption in communities across America.

He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife Mary-Kate and golden retriever Teddy, and says Shaq still owes him $20 for his LSU Tiger’s loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2012 BCS National Championship game.