Hi, I’m Samira.
Stoking the fire …
Guiding from the heart …
I help leaders build healthy organizations fueled by capable, committed teams who find joy and meaning in their work.
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25+ Years in Nonprofit Administration
With both grantmaking and
grant seeking experience -
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A Passion for Health Care Access
On the front lines of
service delivery -
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Community Advocate
A champion for vulnerable communities
About
The Source: Love and Family
A proud mom, I feel truly blessed. My love for my family is the igniting spark that has fueled my career working to improve the health and well-being of families and communities in need.
As an immigrant and woman leader of color, I know what it’s like to struggle against the odds. I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to use my gifts to help others, from coordinating a neighborhood Head Start program to managing a multimillion-dollar portfolio of grants for a regional foundation.
The Work: Service Growth, Partnerships, Impact
Before launching my consulting practice, I founded and led the Southwest Community Health Center, a safety net clinic that served more than 25,000 patients at its peak. Then, as inaugural executive director of Reach Out and Read Oregon, I led a team that partnered with pediatric providers, Early Learning Hubs, Community Care Organizations, and other stakeholders to deliver a research-backed public health intervention supporting healthy brain development. My personal advocacy in town hall meetings and with policy makers led to priority placement in the Governor’s budget.
Most recently, I was Senior Program Officer with the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation, where I guided and supported over 300 nonprofit grantees in Oregon and Washington working in health, education, and the arts. I helped build mission-critical grantmaking infrastructure and influenced the investment of some $16 million in community programs.
I have served on numerous boards and committees including Community Action for Washington County, the Coalition of Community Health Clinics, the City of Beaverton Diversity Advisory Board, the Tualatin Hills Parks Foundation, and the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District Budget Committee.
Services
Mission Focus
With so many unmet and emerging community needs, it’s easy to go adrift.
Healthy nonprofits have a clear mission that’s well understood by those inside and outside the organization. Too often, I’ve seen groups spend a lot of time wordsmithing their mission statement and not enough time figuring out how to implement it. When programming and services are misaligned, it can lead to frustration and lack of impact.
I help leaders set an inspiring vision, realistically evaluate opportunity, and motivate teams to contribute at their highest level. This includes implementing tools and systems that keep your board and staff focused and on track.
Resources & Fundraising
A nonprofit is a business, pure and simple.
I help organizations assess their fundraising capacity and effectiveness and create roadmaps to sustained success. This includes direct coaching of development staff to support disciplined execution of fundraising plans.
As an executive director, I cultivated mission-aligned relationships with foundations and other funding and programmatic partners that provided critical support and extended our reach. And as a former senior program officer at the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation, I have experience providing technical assistance to hundreds of organizations in all aspects of nonprofit management, including program development, budgeting, and grant writing.
Leadership & Governance
The best plan won’t succeed without strong, aligned leadership.
I help executive staff and board members resolve conflicts and move forward, together, with clarity and purpose.
My approach is informed by my extensive nonprofit leadership experience and service on more than a half dozen community boards and civic committees, where I’ve helped untangle gridlock and bring people from all walks of life along. By modeling how to meet people where they are, with compassion and empathy, the result is often a renewed sense of joy in the work and gratitude for each other.
What Colleagues Say
“Samira is a gifted leader, able to do so much with limited resources while still managing to create optimism, promote the mission and vision of her organization, and ensure its success. She is humble, has an always-friendly demeanor, and is strong at networking skills—all characteristics that make her even more successful in her work.”
Colin Cave, MD, Northwest Permanente P.C.
“Samira is a natural leader who commands respect and timely delivers her commitments. Her dedication to the community is noteworthy. She is well-connected with foundations and knows her way to route money for non-profit causes effectively. Overall, Samira is a wonderful person who is self-driven and a proven leader.”
Usman Mughal, Mughal Gaudry & Franklin PC
“Samira is a dynamic and experienced leader with a talent for listening and the gift of discerning priorities, for both herself and that of a group.”
Chris Otis, nonprofit consultant
“Samira’s experience on both sides of the grant writing equation makes her a strong partner for both operational and capital fundraising, and she knows everybody, helping me set up meetings with foundation heads and community partners. She understands local and national philanthropy and she knows what to focus on. As an ED challenged to advance our mission while meeting payroll, I come away from every meeting with her more organized and clear on next steps.”
John Duke, Executive Director, Homeless Solutions Coalition of Clackamas County