About

Samuel M. Gebru is a social entrepreneur, community organizer, educator, advocate, and strategist with more than two decades of political and nonprofit experience in the United States and East Africa.

He is the Chief Executive Officer of Black Lion Strategies, a public affairs and social impact consulting firm, and a Professor of the Practice of Political Science at Tufts University. At Tufts, Samuel also serves as Senior Advisor for Community and Stakeholder Engagement at the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) in the School of Medicine, is an affiliate faculty member of the Tufts University Prison Initiative of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life (TUPIT), and was previously a Senior Fellow at the Tufts Center for State Policy Analysis (cSPA).

An experienced leader, connector, and "good troublemaker," Samuel has devoted over half of his life to creating and scaling initiatives, building cross-sector partnerships and coalitions, and championing public policies that advance economic opportunity and social justice. His public service vocation began at age 13, advocating and raising funds for maternal health and women impacted by obstetric fistula, a rare childbirth injury in developing countries. A former candidate for City Council in his hometown of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Samuel remains deeply involved in broad range of domestic and foreign policy issues.

Samuel has served on the governing boards and advisory councils of numerous institutions, including currently with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts, University of Massachusetts (UMass) Club, WilmerHale Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School, Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Samuel is multilingual, a frequent public speaker, and a regular news and media contributor. A coffee and ice cream aficionado, he lives in Massachusetts with his dog, Alula.

Last Revised: May 2025. Contact for a most recent version, photos, or a longer biography.