Hey!
My name is Samantha Bakall, I’m a queer, second-gen Chinese American strategic communications leader and journalist living in Portland, Oregon.
I have more than a decade of experience helping nonprofits, funders, and movement organizations turn values into clear, compelling stories that move people to act. My work sits at the intersection of narrative strategy, donor engagement, and community-rooted storytelling—always grounded in equity, dignity, and trust.
From 2021-2024, I was the Communications Director at Seeding Justice, where I built and executed a strategic narrative communications program from the ground up and led the rebrand and website overhaul that transformed the organization from MRG Foundation into Seeding Justice.
From 2013 - 2018, I worked for The Oregonian and was the only staff food writer of color in the state and since 2018 have continued working as a nationally published freelance writer specializing in equity-based food issues, particularly surrounding the AAPI diaspora in the Pacific Northwest.
As a passionate writer and mentor, I also taught historically excluded youth interested in journalism for five years, and in 2019 and 2020, designed and ran Amplify, a summer internship for high school journalists from historically excluded communities in partnership with Metro and Pamplin Media.
Email me at samanthabakall@gmail.com to get started!