“I love that I am still working with education, especially as someone with boots on the ground recently in a rural school. Bringing that into the conversation is invaluable.”

Program Officer Samantha Herron knows rural. Born and raised in Tenmile, she spent 10 years teaching social studies in Coquille before joining the Children, Youth & Families staff at the Foundation. Samantha supports the CYF department through the lens of an experienced rural teacher, helping guide the Foundation’s work on school-career pathways.

It’s a subject near and dear to her heart. Although education was not her original plan — she’s a big history buff — she eventually earned her master’s degree in teaching from Southern Oregon University in 2016. Along the way, she worked as an AmeriCorps at the Douglas County Museum. She worked with the Foundation to develop her volunteer project with them, which created an outreach program for early childhood education.

After deciding against administrative work, Samantha began looking for ways to make an impact beyond the classroom. Following her nomination as Oregon History Teacher of the Year and earning the 2024-2025 Oregon Regional Teacher of the Year award, she became a sought-after voice for rural education. While teaching, she served on the state level as a member of the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, participating on the educational pathways subcommittee.

“I’m a teacher at heart, so I consistently look for the ways I can help kids be successful,” she says. “Even in the bigger system work I do at the Foundation, I can still do that, in a way that has the potential for a larger impact than otherwise.”

When she’s not working to improve pathways for Oregon’s students, Samantha is a talented pen and ink artist who has a penchant for crosswords. Her family are also — “big outdoors people” — and love taking their young son and pair of German shepherds on hikes and outdoor trips.