Samantha Searls finds her niche in public education and advocacy | Women of the Year
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Samantha Searls was raised to take care of others.
Searls, program director for Ignite Peace, grew up in a single-parent household in Findlay, Ohio, where she was taught the value of service at a young age. A middle child, Searls spent many of her adolescent years caring for her younger sister, Courtney Rinesmith. Her older sister, Julie Hall, also tended to the needs of her younger siblings, while their mother, Debra, worked to support herself and her three children.
Ignite Peace is a nonprofit organization that educates and advocates for peaceful, nonviolent solutions to local and national issues like the death penalty, immigration and human trafficking. Searls runs the group's immigration justice program, which works to identify, call attention to and organize around issues facing Greater Cincinnati's immigrant population.
But it goes beyond their family unit. The Searls women have always been active participants in their community as well, from serving meals to unhoused populations at a local church to taking elderly and disabled folks to doctors' appointments, Searls said.
"That value was instilled in me at a young age," she said. "So, my educational career was spent trying to figure out how I wanted to help people. I found the field of social work through a high school mentorship program, and it really spoke to me about meeting people where they are."
After many years of working in the nonprofit sector as a community organizer, consultant and program specialist, Searls said she finally found her niche in public education and advocacy. According to Searls, the "stars aligned" when she was offered the position of program director for Ignite Peace in 2017.
"It felt like destiny to come here. I absolutely love Cincinnati," she said.
Searls said she began working in immigration justice while attending graduate school at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. During that time, she started to identify similarities between her upbringing and many immigrant families.
"A lot of my identity is tied up in the fact that I'm from a single-parent household, and the responsibilities of that weigh on you as a young person. ...
" ... I saw that very same theme in the immigrant families that I interacted with, where there was this false belief that they couldn't share their thoughts and opinions because they had to keep things afloat and focused on their families," Searls said.
Searls' focus on coalition building, advocacy and community doesn't end with Ignite Peace. The Northwest Ohio native has also been involved with a large number of organizations, including the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cincinnati, Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s Immigration Taskforce, Communities United for Action, End Slavery Cincinnati, Give Back Cincinnati and Immigrant Dignity Coalition and Working in Neighborhood, all of which have benefited from her efforts.
Of all of Searls' philanthropic projects, two programs in particular mean the most to her.
First is the Queen City Freedom Band, an LGBTQ+ concert band where Searls plays the clarinet and serves as the group's secretary. Second is the Clifton United Methodist Church, a reconciling congregation that is welcoming and affirming to the LGBTQ+ community, where she holds the position of witness chair. Through her role as witness chair, Searls organizes and participates in activities that strengthen relationships with the community and heal religious trauma.
"My faith teaches me a lot about radical love and radical compassion. It also focuses on service and community building and not judging someone based on a poor decision that they've made or a circumstance that they can't control. And to really embrace every part of them because they are beloved children of God no matter what," she said.
Searls has spent almost a decade living in, working with and giving back to the Cincinnati community. She says she often feels like she's just getting started. But being named one of The Enquirer's 2023 Women of the Year has reaffirmed her path.
About Samantha Searls
Birthplace: Columbus, Ohio.
Current residence: College Hill.
Family: Sisters Julie Hall and Courtney Rinesmith; mother Debra Searls and a cat named Minnie.
Education: University of Indianapolis in 2012 and Washington University in St. Louis in 2013.
Occupation: Program director for Ignite Peace, formerly Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center.
Q&A with Samantha Searls
What inspires you to give back?
"I am inspired to give back to my community because my community has given back to me and my family. Not only growing up in Findlay but being in other states, getting my education. Finding and building a community of support was really crucial to my success. I had a church in St. Louis that really embraced me and supported me in my work. Then, when I moved to Cincinnati, I didn't know anyone except for a couple of people from high school. So, I was very intentional about meeting new people and building strong relationships because we need community to survive."
What need in the community would you like to see addressed?
"I feel like in our community, there is often a false sense of competition when it comes to social services and social justice work, where there's this incorrect belief that by helping one group, you're hurting another. Or by helping one group, you can't help another at the same time. Especially when it comes to housing in Cincinnati, we need to make sure that the solutions that we're pushing to solve this problem help folks who are living in extreme poverty and not just the middle class. We need to make sure that our housing work is helping people who are undocumented or are asylum seekers who have now decided to call Cincinnati their home. There's more than enough love and resources out there to be generous to multiple communities at the same time. It's not a competition."
Who most influenced or inspired you to care about others?
"It's hard to pick just one. Especially when it comes to women in my life. I have been raised by women, I have been taught by women, and currently, my staff is made up of female presenting people. But I have to say it starts with my mother. As a single mother working multiple jobs when everyone else in my hometown was working for two of the major corporations, we weren't, and we were different. The fact that she worked so hard to raise her children but also gave back to the community at the same time also taught me that it doesn't matter what your profession is. You don't have to be a social justice program director like I am or a politician. Everyone has a role in taking care of their community, and she taught me that. That's really inspired the trajectory of my career."
Meet the 2023 Enquirer Women of the Year
You can find stories about other 2023 honorees by clicking on their names:
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Samantha Searls draws on faith, community in immigration work
