About Samsam

Samsam Mohamud

Grounded in Research, Design, and Advocacy

Focused on Human-Centered Technology and Inclusive Impact

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Samsam Mohamud is a researcher, designer, and advocate whose work lives at the intersection of accessibility, equity, and community-driven systems change. Trained in human-centered design and anthropology, her approach is rooted not only in methods, but in relationships—listening closely, observing deeply, and translating lived experience into pathways for more just and inclusive futures.

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Her work began with a simple but enduring question: who is left out, and why? Through years of research, facilitation, and community engagement—from digital literacy classrooms to national institutions—Samsam has worked alongside people navigating barriers to access, whether technological, structural, or social. In these spaces, she learned that access is not just about tools or systems, but about dignity, trust, and the right to participate fully in the world.

 

At the Library of Congress, Samsam conducted in-depth user research with blind and print-disabled patrons, working to uncover the unseen obstacles within systems meant to serve. Through interviews, usability testing, and collaborative inquiry, she helped shape more accessible services grounded in the real experiences of those too often excluded.

 

Her commitment to equity extends across institutions and communities. At the University of Washington School of Public Health, she supported anti-racism and disability justice initiatives, helping design programs that center care, belonging, and collective wellbeing. Whether coordinating affinity spaces or contributing to equity-centered research, her work reflects a belief that systems change begins with how we show up for one another.

 

Samsam’s practice is deeply participatory. She believes research should not extract stories, but return value; not speak for communities, but build with them. This ethic has guided her work facilitating digital literacy programs, conducting human rights research, and supporting communities navigating complex systems with empathy and care.

 

In her work with Indigenous Just Transition, Samsam brings a critical lens to questions of access, accountability, and power: Who is centered in design? Who is excluded by default? And what does it mean to build systems that are not only functional, but just?

 

For Samsam, this work is about more than research or design. It is about creating conditions where people are not forced to adapt to systems that were never built for them, but where systems are reshaped to honor the full humanity of those they serve. It is about moving from access as accommodation to access as a fundamental right—and from inclusion as an afterthought to inclusion as a starting point.