Sam is an innovative and enthusiastic senior strategic manager in cultural learning. She has strong advocacy and lobbying skills and a proven track record of generating, implementing and evaluating programmes across the arts and heritage sector.
Sam has worked in the cultural sector for over 20 years – starting in museum education and then working in libraries, archives and the arts. Sam and Lizzie have worked in partnership in various forms since 2007.
Sam project managed and compiled the Clore Duffield Foundation’s Space for Learning: a new handbook for creating inspirational learning spaces (2015) and Space for Learning Covid Guidance (2020). She was Project Manager of RSA Learning About Culture for a year in 2019 and led the team that produced the Arts-Rich Schools report.
A lifelong lover of museums Sam started her career at the V&A and was Head of Learning and Access at Imperial War Museums Churchill War Rooms. She ran the Cultural Learning Alliance 2011-2022 with Lizzie Crump, leading on their evidence work.
Sam’s current areas of interest are:
- What systems deliver equitable access to an arts-rich education at local authority level?
- What do museum and arts learning spaces need to deliver effective learning for children and young people?
- Do arts focused communities of interest drive better communication and improve children’s access to arts learning?
Current projects include working with Art Fund on the Teacher Art Pass and The Wild Escape and with Southampton Cultural Education Partnership. She is a member of the Artsmark assessment Panel, a Heritage Fund mentor for projects in Scotland and a primary school governor.
Read more about Sam’s work on her LinkedIn profile.