Educator
Deborah Samaké recently retired from a long career in education. She is a native San Franciscan who has taught elementary through high school students in public, private and parochial schools. For the last 21 years, she taught social science, history, and community engagement courses at Urban School of San Francisco all through a lens of multiculturalism, inclusivity and balanced inquiry. As a curriculum developer and experienced educator, Deborah served as a master teacher at Shady Hill Middle School in Cambridge, Massachusetts (an apprentice teacher school). She co-directed Aim High (a multi-year summer enrichment program for 6th – 9th graders across Northern California) for nine years. After her co-director tenure, Deborah returned to Aim High, serving as a board member, on DEI planning committees, and as co-director.
Deborah earned her BA in Social Science and Education at UC Santa Barbara. She put her skills to use in Maradi, West Africa. As a Peace Corps volunteer she taught English as another language in a local high school. After her rich PC experience she taught American history and social science to a couple of African students traveling to the US for graduate work. Deborah completed her graduate work at SF State University. First received her teaching license, followed by a Masters in Clinical Social Work.
One of Deborah's most rewarding teaching experiences was co-creating and leading an oral history class where she helped students recognize and develop resilience by interviewing older adults who had lived through the trauma of the Holocaust, Japanese internment camps, and the US Civil Rights movement. This experience served as the focus for her graduate studies and her theoretical framework: narrative therapy as an effective strategy to recognize and reduce trauma. Collecting and documenting people's stories has become a major interest for Deborah and she continues to document stories as her metier. During these interviews she keeps in mind the words of Steven Bryant, "Each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done." Helping others is not only an act of kindness but also a powerful remedy for mental health.” By embracing empathy, compassion, and understanding, we can create healthier communities and society.