Sam is the co-founder of Lens on Life Project, an NGO that provides photography and digital media training for at-promise youth in Iraq , Cameroon, the DR Congo, Jordan, and the USA. He began his career working with youth from a young age as a tutor in East Los Angeles while enrolled in university. After graduating, he became a residential counselor at Boys Hope Girls Hope of NY, the city's only college-access, urban boarding program dedicated to serving at-risk youth. An award winning photographer and filmmaker, he started teaching classes to students after school, planting the seeds for Lens on Life Project. He holds a Masters of Science in International Relations from New York University.

Lens on Life won a GOLD Global Good Award for the Canon Young People Programme – Partner of the Year in 2023.