Presenter Bio - Rev. Sam Offer
Rev. Sam Offer (he, him, his, they) serves as Vice President and a senior consultant with the Washington Consulting Group (WCG), a Multicultural Organizational Development Firm located in Baltimore, MD. (The Washington Consulting Group was named one of ten top global diversity firm by the Economist in 2015).
A native Marylander, Sam has served as a leader in education over the past 35 years. Sam holds a BS in Early Childhood Development. Other studies include Human Sexuality, Faith, Religious and Spiritual Pluralism, including religious Issues within the LGBTQ community (particularly through a Christian lens), and Social Justice Education. Sam is an alumnus of Landmark Education and the Social Justice Training Institute. Sam currently serves as a lead facilitator for LeaderShape, Inc., and lead faculty for the Social Justice Training Institute.
Sam has spent many years working with the development of youth and young adults within K-12, Higher Ed, and the community.
Rev. Offer is a past member of Maryland Black Family Alliance, and served as advisor to Marylanders of Faith; organizations advocating for equity of all people. Rev. Offer served as co-chair of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force premier conference, Creating Change 2012. Sam served as chair of the African American People of Faith Caucus for Marylanders for Marriage Equality. His leadership and efforts helped to uphold the Civil Marriage Protection Act (MD) during a referendum in 2012. He is a active board member for the Center for Black Equity, Baltimore.
Among many honors and accolades, he has been named as one of the most influential leaders in the LGBTQ community in Baltimore, MD. He recently received (2019) the prestigious Diamond Honoree Award from the American College Personnel Association (ACPA).
His work includes developing curriculum and workshops for colleges, universities, government agencies and non-profits; developing and implementing DEI strategies for local religious and community organizations; leading and helping organizations to effectively understand and engage the dynamics of social and cultural justice in order to build more inclusive communities; developing and implementing curriculum for engaging sexuality, spirituality and religion in the workplace; intersectionality work, facilitating group sessions and trainings on topics including leadership, organizational change, and culture change.
His work has been and is included in major audiences such as: American College Personnel Assoc. (ACPA), National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE), The White Privilege Conference (WPC), National Association of Student Affairs Administrators (NASPA),), and other national/regional conferences. He has worked with many universities and colleges; the Gates Foundation, United Methodist Reconciling Ministries, Human Right Campaign (HRC), National LGBTQ Task Force, Government Accountability Office, Metropolitan Community Churches Worldwide and National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) and more. He travels the world advocating social justice and equity for all humanity. He is known for his witty personality, style and love for the work he does.
Rev. Offer has served in music ministry for more than 40 years. Currently, he serves as the lead for the Education Department, and Minister of Community Relations and Outreach for Unity Fellowship Church, Baltimore. He is an ordained reverend in good standing within the Unity Fellowship Church Movement.
Sam is a sought after national speaker, consultant, facilitator and trainer on Diversity and Inclusion, Organizational change, Multiculturalism, Religion, Leadership, and Community Development. He has an infectious style of engaging participants that will foster effective change in both their personal and professional lives.
