MEET
Dr. Jennifer Sampson
Our Founder and Director of Leadership Training at Lovewell Initiatives
In her leadership work, Dr. Sampson helps leaders see how their own relational patterns shape the cultures and systems they run, and how to bring their impact into line with their values, especially under pressure. Her framework, Person of the Leader, extends Aponte's Person of the Therapist model into leadership. It draws on systemic and family-systems theory, critical reflexivity, and liberation and decolonizing frameworks, and it treats reflexivity as an obligation of power rather than a private exercise in self-improvement. She works toward leadership that builds trust, shares power, and holds equity at the center, in mission-driven settings where care is the work.
Dr. Jennifer Sampson
she/her
FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF LEADERSHIP TRAINING
About
Dr. Sampson
Dr. Sampson is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, and an AAMFT Approved Supervisor with a passion for fostering personal and relationship growth. As a bi-racial, Filipino cis-woman, she brings diverse life experiences to her work, enriching her understanding of the many facets of human experience and allowing her to approach leadership with empathy and insight.
Dr. Sampson earned her PhD in Family Social Science from the University of Minnesota and has extensive leadership experience. She has served as Program, Department, and Divisional Chair for a COAMFTE-accredited program, and with over 15 years as a faculty member in higher education, she has been instrumental in shaping the training for next generation of couple and family therapists.
Since 2011, Dr. Sampson has been a co-owner of Northwest Relationships, a group practice based in Tacoma, Washington, where she currently sees a variety of individual and relational clients. She has also served as President of the Washington Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Board of Directors in Seattle, WA, and was the recipient of the CEHD Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota in 2023.Ā
Dr. Sampson also founded and served as Executive Director of The Hoarding Project, a 501(c)(3) public charity in Tacoma, Washington, from 2009 to 2019, demonstrating her commitment to addressing complex mental health issues within the community.
Central to Dr. Sampsonā€™s leadership approach is the importance of liberation and anti-oppressive practices. She believes that true systemic change can only be achieved by fostering an environment that challenges oppressive structures and promotes equity and inclusion.