Samantha Crawford
Co-Founder & Director of Administration

Ms. Crawford is a Los Angeles native and a graduate of Syracuse University. At Syracuse, she studied Inclusive Elementary and Special Education, and received her Bachelor of Science in Education. Upon completion of her studies, Sam left central New York and returned to Los Angeles to begin her teaching career. At Lindamood-Bell Learning Academy, Sam worked as a Reading Clinician, providing instruction and ELA support to students with special needs.  She was a Special Education Teacher at Environmental Charter Schools, where she created and implemented standards-based, grade-level lesson plans for middle school students, acted as an intervention specialist for students with academic and behavioral issues, and worked with students with Individualized Education Programs (IEP). Additionally, Sam worked as a Paraeducator at Cupertino High School, where she assisted teachers in the presentation of learning materials, tutored individual and small groups of students, and provided generalized support to faculty and staff.

Wanting to explore the administrative side of education, Sam joined Performing Arts Workshops, and is currently it’s Administrative Manager and Director of Customer Relations. Under her leadership, Sam team oversees the registration and administration processes, provides parent support, and supports teachers working in the field. Sam holds fiduciary responsibility and trust, ensuring student record accuracy, schedules and student safety.

Having taught children with special needs in the classroom and performed administrative duties in support of teachers in the field, Sam has insight into many of the demands of today’s educational system. By co-founding Project LEAD, it is Sam’s goal to provide children of all backgrounds, geographical locations, educational experiences, and interests with empowering classroom experiences so that they will view themselves as having important voices that need to be heard. Sam is committed to providing all children with the tools and resources to find their voices and to empower them to become the leaders of tomorrow.

At Project LEAD, Sam coordinates the distribution and support of LEAD Curriculum to LEAD Educators. Sam’s team ensures that the experience of joining the Project LEAD movement is a smooth one, providing LEAD Educators with easy access to information regarding orders, memberships, curricula, and acting as their point of contact for questions and guidance. Having been a teacher, Sam also supports the Director of Curriculum, providing input on lesson concepts, objectives, differentiation, accessibility, and inclusivity of classes and workshops. When not working directly with prospective and current LEAD Educators, Sam spends time developing and maintaining the Project LEAD website, updates memberships, and is responsible for managing and protecting customer privacy and records.