About

Samantha Linnett

Hi, I’m Sam, a multipotentialite who loves to experience the world through travel and to help social sector organizations help their constituents.

By day, I’m a civic innovator, specializing in human-centered design for the public sector. By night, I'm a travel content creator and planner, sharing my experiences with local communities across the world and helping others to have those experiences too.

I’m based in Washington, DC, soaking up some sunshine after spending eight years falling in love with a very snowy Syracuse. I live with my husband and three rambunctious cats. We love exploring our city and neighborhood we call home (and yes, by “we” I do also mean the cats, who go out for walks).

I’m a facilitator and human-centered design strategist who tackles challenges by co-designing actionable strategies, building consensus, and driving measurable outcomes. I have 10 years of experience in program design, service design, strategic communications, and organizational change.

My work centers on helping governments, nonprofits, and mission-driven organizations connect with the communities they serve, communicate with clarity, and deliver measurable impact. I specialize in:

• Program & service design grounded in human-centered design principles

• Facilitation of workshops, stakeholder engagement, and consensus-building

• Strategic communications & behavior-change marketing

• Organizational strategy, planning & change management

At my core, I’m a civic nerd and avid learner who thrives on problem solving, building collaborative community, and co-creating solutions that drive impact. I bring a strong commitment to equity and inclusive design, ensuring diverse perspectives—especially from the people and communities most impacted—are centered in every process and outcome. Whether it’s facilitating design-thinking workshops, leading strategic planning initiatives, or synthesizing qualitative and quantitative data into actionable insights, I bring both creativity and structure to help organizations move from big ideas to implementation.

I’m also a travel content creator and planner, sharing stories from local communities around the world and helping others design meaningful, joyful travel experiences of their own. This side passion keeps me curious, creative, and always looking for ways to connect people to each other and to the places they care about. I own my own travel planning company, Experience Design Co., in collaboration with my travel brand Discover with Sam. Through digital content creation, travel blogging, and trip planning and design, it is my goal to share my experiences connecting with people and places all over the world, and to help others have those experiences for themselves. I practice social impact travel, exploring and supporting local communities, economies, and ecosystems in mindful and respectful ways. I value local, cultural experiences over tourist attractions or luxury travel (but that's not to say I don't do those too).

I’m Prosci Change Management certified, trained in multiple facilitation methods, and hold a Master’s in Public Administration (Maxwell School) and a Bachelor’s in Public Relations (Newhouse School) from Syracuse University. If you’re looking for expertise in program and service design, facilitation, stakeholder engagement, and strategic communications—with a track record of helping organizations deliver results.

I’d love to connect with you! Whether you want to work together, learn more about one of my projects, or just chat and nerd out, don’t hesitate to reach out!