Samantha Coker (Pele)

CEO

SAMANTHA COKER BIO

Entrepreneur, Writer, humanitarian and project manager SAMANTHA COKER has spent most of her life cultivating a career that exists at the intersection of art, commerce and social change. Samantha’s zones of genius lie in her ability to balance the creative and pragmatic, and to create and nourish extraordinarily loyal and passionate teams.

Although she hails from South Carolina, Samantha spent her formative years in a small town out side of Toronto, called Brantford, ON. This widely international community set her up to have a great love for travel and eclectic communities. Her time at boarding school reinforced her passion for diversity, and sent her to live abroad off and on during her college years.

After receiving a Bachelor of Arts from Smith College, she began a career in the music industry. Always working with bands that had a level of social consciousness, she wove her way through the industry, touching almost every corner of it.

In 1999, Samantha was recruited by the Seattle-based, Frank Geary/Paul Allen music museum, The Experience Music Project. She spent three years managing their revenue, cash management, financial database and reporting system until she left for The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). There she helped build new database systems and produce their annual Auction/Awards show fundraiser. This led her to Seattle University, which pioneered one of the first Master’s Programs specifically for Non-Profit executives, where she received her Master of Not-for-Profit Leadership with a focus on corporate social responsibility.

Samantha moved to Los Angeles in 2004 where she spent time helping produce commercials and films, and over the years offered her non-profit expertise to such charities as her alma mater, Oldfields’ School for Girls; Salvando Corzones; and Children Mending Hearts, where she was on the founding board and traveled to DR Congo as part of CMH’s art exchange between students at L.A.’s Inner City Arts and displaced children in Congo; and most recently Global Green, where she is Chair of the Advisory Board.

Her deep curiosity led her to the Burning Man festival where, for five years, she project managed Red Lightning, one of the foremost spiritual theme camps at Burning Man.

Presently, Samantha is the co-founder and CEO of a rapidly growing sprouted gourmet nut company. She and her husband are looking to grow this company internationally, bringing healthy sprouted gourmet food, and education to the masses.