Topeka K. Sam is the Founder and Executive Director of The Ladies of Hope Ministries – The LOHM, co-founder of HOPE HOUSE NYC, President of TKS Ventures LLC, and Faces & Voices Inc. She serves on the board of directors for Grassroots Leadership, Coalition for Public Safety, and The Marshall Project.
Since her release from federal prison on May 5th, 2015, Topeka has achieved the following: 2015 Beyond the Bars Fellow and a 2016 Justice-In-Education Scholar both from Columbia University, 2017 Soros Justice Advocacy Fellow, 2018 Unlocked Futures Inaugural Cohort Member, 2018 Opportunity Agenda Communications Institute Fellow, Director of #Dignity Campaign for #cut50 where she led the bi-partisan national effort to pass 20 pieces of legislation restoring the Dignity for Incarcerated Women, Senior Advisor of New Yorkers United for Justice, Host of “The Topeka K. Sam Show” on SiriusXM UrbanView Channel 126 Sundays 9 am EDT and is now developing scripted and unscripted series as an Executive Producer for TV & Film, inspired by her fight to change the many problems that plague female incarceration with 44 Blue Productions.
Topeka has been featured in Vogue, Essence, SalonTV, Vice, New York Times, TheCut, Rolling Stone, and Variety Magazine. She has shared her expertise on The Tamron Hall Show, CNN, MSNBC, and The Today Show. Additionally, has been featured in Glamour Magazine and Black Enterprise for being “The Black Woman behind the video that led to the Trump Clemency of Alice Johnson.” She has spoken at the 2018 United States of the Woman Conference, 2018 Women in the World Conference, 2018 White House Prison Reform Summit, is a TedxMidAtlantic Superheros Presenter, and has received many awards for her contributions to transforming the lives of women and girls impacted by the criminal legal system.
She has worked and continues to work selflessly and relentlessly in her fight for the dignity, decriminalization, and incarceration of women and girls. All Social Media Handles: @TopekaKSam
