Samantha Ramirez-Herrera
Samantha Ramirez-Herrera is more than a DREAMer: she is a DOer. Her family journeyed to America at the age of seven, in search and pursuit of the American Dream. Although growing up undocumented felt like a nightmare, she refused to be stopped from fulfilling her dreams and inspiring others to do the same.
TOPICS
- Civic Engagement
- Diversity
- Entrepreneurship
- First Generation College Students
- Latinx Focused
- Hispanic Heritage
- Leadership
- Personal Growth
- Philanthropy
- Service Learning
- Social Justice
KEYNOTES
Getting to know
Samantha Ramirez-Herrera
Samantha “Sam” Ramirez-Herrera is an entrepreneur, filmmaker, creative director, writer, mother, feminist, and civil rights activist. While she wears many hats, at her core, Sam is a storyteller.
Storytelling is the heartbeat of her company, OffThaRecord.com (OTR), a creative content agency and digital magazine headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. At OTR, Sam has built a network of creative multicultural millennials who use their talents and technology to tell raw, uncensored and authentic stories to uplift marginalized communities and promote purpose-driven brands, nonprofits and change-makers.
Sam’s unorthodox path to becoming a digital media maverick is rooted in her own story of drive and determination. She was 7 years old when her parents decided to move the family from Mexico City to the United States, seeking a better life. As an undocumented immigrant, she grew up in the shadows, working hard to get ahead while at the same time fearing the possibility of discovery and deportation. After graduating high school, she waited tables and worked other jobs to make ends meet before becoming a DREAMer, thanks to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Wanting to create something that was uniquely her own, Sam burst onto the digital scene in 2012, developing her own YouTube channel and show. She chronicled the journeys of independent musicians and artists following their own paths and doing what they loved. The show’s tagline – “Live. Create. Inspire.” – remains Sam’s mantra to this day.
The channel gained an impressive online following among millennials of color. Based on its success, Sam officially launched OTR in 2015, working out of a small office at advertising agency in downtown Atlanta. That same year, she started the Kick Ass Girl Pow Wow (KAGPW), a digital platform that celebrates girls and women of diverse backgrounds, cultures, ages and career paths, “who are living out loud with purpose and passion.” Sam hosts monthly Kick Ass Girl Pow Wow dinners where women can meet for food, conversation and support.
Through her work at OTR, Sam addresses topics she is passionate about, including feminism, economic justice, immigration, reproductive justice, LGBTQ rights, and mental health in communities of color. She is proud that, in its relatively short time, OTR has grown enough to employ staff and pay creative professionals in its network to produce original work for its clients, which are among the nation’s most influential brands and organizations. They include Johns Hopkins Medicine; civil rights activist Arndrea King; Ms. Foundation for Women; AFROPUNK; and I Live For, a not-for-profit committed to ending the cultural stigma of depression, anxiety and other mental disorders in teenagers and young adults of color one story at a time.
As an extension of work at OTR, Sam, shares her expertise in communicating with Latin and Hispanic audiences and multicultural millennials. She has become a highly sought-after speaker on college campuses and at conferences addressing the issues of immigration, gender equality, sexual orientation and identity, culture and ethnicity, and diversity and inclusion. As a proud, Mexican-born DREAMer, she is also a vocal advocate of U.S. immigration reform.
Sam has appeared on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews as well as in Forbes, Mundo Hispanico, AFROPUNK, and The Collegian. She has spoken to audiences at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Atlanta Association of Independent Schools, Los Angeles City College, and HATCH Experience North America. She recently was named a 2018 scholar at The Aspen Institute Ideas Festival.
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS
To help you promote your event with Samantha, CAMPUSPEAK has created promotional templates you can use. In this folder, you will find resources for social media, a promotional poster for printing, and press photos you can use for your event.
Link to Promotional Materials
LOGISTICAL MATERIALS
SEE WHAT PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY About Samantha Ramirez-Herrera!
KEYNOTES
Samantha Ramirez-Herrera’s Keynotes can be presented in English & Spanish
El Regreso
At age 7, Samantha Ramirez-Herrera fled Mexico with her family in pursuit of the American Dream. Thirty years later, Samantha had the opportunity to return to Mexico for the first time to embark on a journey to reconnect with her past and her Mexican family. Her journey was documented in the recent award-winning documentary “El Regreso”.
In this keynote, Samantha Ramirez will share stories from her journey and show selected parts of her documentary “El Regreso”. Participants will witness the profound impact this journey had on her all while understanding what it means to be a DREAMER. Through her story, the program will explore themes of identity, trauma, and rebirth, and the challenges and triumphs of the immigrant experience. Attendees will gain a deeper appreciation for the resilience required to bridge two worlds and the transformative power of embracing one’s heritage. Don’t miss this opportunity to be inspired by Sam Ramirez-Herrera’s journey of awakening and rebirth.
El Regreso Documentary Trailer
Learning Outcomes
As a result of attending this program, students will :
- Learn about the first-hand experience of a DREAMER
- Learn about resilience
- Learn about the power of culture and heritage
- Celebrate identity
Live. Create. Inspire
I am labeled as a DREAMer, but I know that I am more than that. I am a DOer.
For twenty years Sam’s ethos has been “Live. Create. Inspire.” manifested through life experiences as an undocumented immigrant searching for her identity, survival, and purpose ranging from dishwasher to DJ, blogger to failed YouTuber, waitress to a now award-winning filmmaker, entrepreneur, and advocate.
In search of her purpose and calling in life, Samanatha left home with a suitcase and her then 4-year-old son. Hungry to tap into her potential and determined to live her wildest dreams regardless of her immigration status, background, lack of education, and resources she tapped into the most powerful tools at her disposal; courage, curiosity, and creativity.
In this program, Sam takes students on a visual journey through the last decade of her creative career, the highs and lows, the failures and successes, and everything in between. The goal of “Live. Create. Inspire.” is to ignite students to build on every life experience until they discover their passions and purpose in this world. Sam believes that we all have the ability to contribute toward a new and reimagined world that is inclusive, equitable, and vibrant. She believes that we all have the power to demolish barriers and push past the impossible.
Learning Outcomes
As a result of attending this program, students will :
- Be empowered to pursue their wildest dreams without apology
- Learn how to use and view every single life experience as an opportunity to discover their passions and purpose in life
- Be inspired to see challenges as opportunities to create and innovate
- Be empowered to be trailblazers and game-changers in their schools and communities
- Learn that being a jack of all trades is not always a bad thing
- Learn about the opportunities to build careers in creative industries
Alas de Colibrí Corazón De Puma
Hummingbird Wings, Heart of a Puma
What do we do when things fall apart? What do we do when our dreams begin to feel like nightmares? What do we do when our long-standing belief systems are challenged and what do we do when change shows up and we’re not ready?
Change is inevitable. Transformation is intentional.
“Alas de Colibrí Corazón De Puma” is a journey into the heart of transformation amidst life’s uncertainties. Through Sam’s narrative, we confront the fundamental questions that arise when our world seems to crumble around us. Sam, like so many other immigrants, exists between two nations—fully belonging to none. In 2022, she took the opportunity to return to Mexico after three decades in the U.S. without guarantee of being allowed back, embarking on a soul-searching expedition to reconnect with her roots. What followed was a profound unraveling of traumas and illusions, challenging her deeply-held beliefs about the American Dream and the life she’d built.
This program is a blend of poetry and wisdom, offering insights distilled from Sam’s journey of self-discovery. It sheds light on the delicate dance between strength and sensitivity epitomized by the hummingbird’s wings and the puma’s heart. They’re like symbols of her journey. Delicate yet fierce. Through Sam’s experiences, we’re reminded of the necessity of embracing change with intentionality, even when we feel unprepared. We’re urged to confront uncomfortable truths within ourselves, paving the way for authenticity and transformation. Because life’s full of unexpected challenges, right? But facing them head-on, like an alebrije, a mystical creature with wings and a heart of steel, that’s where the real magic happens. “Alas de Colibrí Corazón De Puma” is your reminder to embrace the chaos, own your truth, and soar through life with courage.
Learning Outcomes
As a result of attending this program, students will :
- Discover the importance of embracing change, even when it feels overwhelming or unexpected.
- Learn how to engage in authentic self-reflection, challenging them to confront their beliefs and truths.
- Explore the complexities of cultural identity and belonging, particularly for those who straddle multiple cultures or nations; and
- Learn about resilience in the face of adversity.
Borderless Dreams “Sueños Sin Limites”
Borderless Dreams is a program focused on inspiring courage and catalyzing positive and bold action towards students’ biggest dreams. Creative entrepreneur, activist and immigrant DREAMer Samantha Ramirez-Herrera shares her compelling journey growing up undocumented and forging forward despite of the challenges she faced from language barriers, economic obstacles, cultural differences, immigration policies, and lack of resources for higher education. By choosing to come out of the shadows, allowing ourselves to dream big and face fears with courage we have the power to find growth
Through sharing my personal immigrant story and the challenges I’ve overcome to become an entrepreneur my hope is to inspire students to learn the power of listening to their intuition and not being afraid of the unknown. I want to relay the message that nothing is impossible if we believe and choose to take the journey of self discovery and have the courage to tap into our full potential.
Learning Outcomes
As a result of attending this program, students will learn:
- how to expanded Cultural Knowledge
- how to recognize the diverse experience of immigrants and children from other countries
- how to build empathy
- how to let go of negative thoughts that can hold us back
- how to be authentic and lead without fear and finding their purpose
The Art Of Storytelling
There is great power in telling an unforgettable story. This keynote focuses on inspiring and teaching you to leverage the power of engaging narrative and effective communication so you can get your message and ideas across in an authentic and moving way. This keynote will help catalyze audiences to embrace and understand your big ideas and form lasting connections. In this keynote, Sam will share the framework she has been using over the last 10+ years to help people, brands, and businesses globally tap into the power of storytelling!
Learning Outcomes
As a result of attending this program, students will learn:
- How to craft persuasive communication using story principles
- How to be confident in owning your own story and sharing it with others
- Help leaders identify storytelling opportunities
- How to implement appropriate narrative structure
SAMANTHA’S BLOGS
The following are past entries Samantha has written for the CAMPUSPEAK Speaker’s Voice Blog
