Samay Esparza Nguyen

Samay is a queer Andean descendant, a proud brujandera originally from Quito, Ecuador, and rooted in the values they learned growing up in a colonized country where their community has had to constantly defend their sovereignty and their right to honor their land. Growing up, Samay learned from organizers who have fought against the brutality, dehumanization, and social and economic devastation caused by oil extraction in the Amazon. As well as from the elders and fellow guerrerxs who continue to demand autonomy over women's bodies and rights of the LGBTQIA community in Latin America. Samay migrated to Nipmuc Land (Massachusetts)  as a teenager and continued their commitment to liberation movements as an organizer, a policy advocate, a community weaver, artist, and healer. Samay has over 13 years of experience working in grassroots movements, government, schools, nonprofit, philanthropy, public health, and higher education. Samay is also a Doula and a Spanish medical and community interpreter. As the Director of People & Culture at GreenRoots, I approach the visioning and implementation of systems, and relationship and
culture building from a deep commitment to contribute to our shared liberation. For Samay, culture building is dynamic, a living process, and one that requires: intention, creativity,
accountability, consent, self and collective reflection, and community care.