work experience

Before transitioning fully into academia, Sam built a multidisciplinary career spanning higher education, marketing, communications, analytics, and international client services. Her professional background includes leadership roles within a major university system, strategic marketing work for nationally ranked academic programs, analytics consulting, and global communications experience across both the United States and Europe.

Most recently, Sam served in marketing leadership roles at the Kelley School of Business, where she led strategic communications and marketing initiatives for graduate business programs and broader institutional initiatives. Her work focused on brand strategy, enrollment marketing, digital communications, stakeholder engagement, and organizational messaging within highly competitive and rapidly evolving higher education environments. These experiences provided firsthand insight into leadership, organizational culture, institutional decision-making, and the interpersonal dynamics that shape modern workplaces.

Earlier in her career, Sam worked in communications and project management roles within Indiana University’s Office of the Vice President for Information Technology, where she managed strategic communication initiatives and served as a writer and editor supporting large-scale organizational operations and technology initiatives.

Her industry experience also includes work in insight analytics at Seramount (part of EAB), where she contributed to research and analytics projects focused on workplace and organizational issues, as well as international account management and communications roles with organizations including Mimeo Ltd. (United Kingdom) and Koninklijke Brill (Netherlands).

Across these roles, Sam developed extensive experience in leadership communication, organizational strategy, stakeholder management, branding, analytics, and cross-functional collaboration. Her professional experiences continue to inform her academic research and teaching, particularly her interest in workplace mistreatment, power dynamics, organizational culture, and the gap between how leadership is performed and how it is experienced by employees.