Sonn Sam

Dr. Sonn Sam is the proud son of genocide survivors. Through their unconditional love, guidance, and inspiration, Sonn has become an accomplished education leader whose work and commitment have impacted the lives of thousands of young people across the United States and the world. For over 23 years, he served as a teacher/advisor, assistant principal, principal, Chief Innovation Officer, Regional Director, and now a National Director of Partnerships at Big Picture Learning. His work advanced systemic transformation in education by moving from a compliance-driven system to a learner-interest-driven, real-world learning system. A system that fundamentally recognizes that ALL young people are brilliant and that it is our collective responsibility to build systems and structures to cultivate that brilliance. From a policy to a practitioner level, he unapologetically advocates that every young person be known well, able to explore their interests, connect with experts who share that interest, engage in meaningful learning that has impact, and credit interest-driven, anywhere, anytime learning. As the National Director of Partnerships, Sonn partners with education leaders to build sustainable and transformative learner-driven systems, pushing for more equitable outcomes for all learners. Beyond committing his life to serving young people, Sonn enjoys spending time with his family, being physically active, reading/writing, and cooking.