Meet Sam Chavez (she/they/he)

We were lucky to catch up with Sam Chavez (she/they/he) recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sam, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

I was born and raised in a white, wealthy suburb of Dallas, TX. On the surface, I have light skin that reddens more than it tans and a feminine, unassuming body. However, beneath the surface layer, I am also Latino, Indigenous, queer, Two Spirit, and more. I like to say that I contain multitudes, because I am a hard person to fit into a binary.

My many overlapping identities have given me resilience through the years as I’ve navigated harmful dynamics in white culture in Texas, the subtle and not so subtle misogyny of the advertising industry, and now as a storyteller and organizer who often doesn’t fit well into the definition of “social justice activist.”

I get my resilience from my multitudes, which come from my family and ancestors.

My warmth comes from my grandfather, Charlie Chavez, who could warm up any stranger he met with a conversation. My love of learning comes from my nana, Angie, who taught in Albuquerque public schools for decades.

I get my snark, comedic timing, and strength from my Papa who grew up poor and white in rural Texas during the Dust Bowl and moved to New Mexico for a better life. Finally, I get my love for beauty and aesthetics from my grandmother, Phyllis, who was just as fabulous as Elizabeth Taylor in my eyes.

My resilience comes from my New Mexican roots. I may have been the first Chavez to have been born outside of the land that our family has lived on for centuries, but my roots and ancestors anchor me when times feel especially tough as they do now under a new administration.

These roots allowed me to build the roots of change agency four years ago. It is now a thriving media ecosystem and communications agency supporting thousands of heart-first humans, movement leaders, and social change communicators.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

On November 7, 2020, I had a vision for an agency & media ecosystem to support heart-first humans as activists and social change communicators. I was snowed in and stuck in Big Bear on the day it was announced Biden/Harris would make it to the White House. I was relieved, but worried. They had narrowly won against a clear threat.

I quit what had been a dream job, a senior position in an ad agency for Big Tech, to build a decolonized communications & media agency that supports activists, movement leaders, and social change communicators. The roots of change agency now supports thousands of folks who are moving our world forward across our newsletter, podcast, memberships, gatherings, and coaching support.

I love working with folks to expand their capacity by being more creative and strategic. My favorite part is witnessing the excitement when folks see how a decolonized view of communications transforms their daily work with more imagination and energy.

We just released our private podcast feed that I’m very excited about. On the roots of change podcast, I talk with organizers and communicators who are cultivating change differently to combat the threats we face, while creating a liberatory world. Introducing a separate private feed lets guests feel more comfortable sharing insights away from the prying eyes of Big Tech so that we can offer a deeper understanding of our world, actionable ideas for our activism, and insights into building strategies to meet the moment.

As Sam Cooke aptly said, change is a comin’ no matter what people in leadership today say. And that’s what the roots of change agency is here for. To support us navigating change, while staying human.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

As someone who doesn’t fit well into a binary, traditional school was not always my favorite. However, I was fascinated by history and learning. I just did most of my learning outside of classrooms. In high school, I was known as both an athlete and a film geek. Playing lacrosse, field hockey, and soccer every year, helped me to learn the values of community and mutuality. It’s just as important to trust your teammate in activism as it is on the field.

My love of film was how I arrived in advertising and ultimately came to create the roots of change agency. I love stories and imagination. I dreamed of writing scripts for a galaxy far far away and ultimately decided that I had more possibility in advertising to grow. I’m very grateful for the foundation that advertising agency’s gave me. Working across so many different Fortune 500 clients gave me a fascinating view into Corporate America and how I want to build a different kind of organization.

The advice that I share the most and one that I try my best to follow myself is to build strategically, while being patient. In our hyperconnected world, we expect so much to be immediate. However, good growth comes from tending to the soil for a while before anything sprouts from the ground. Building with intentionality and connectedness will help build something sturdier and more lasting.

Having just reached the roots of change agency’s four year anniversary, I can see how many of the decisions I made at the beginning were important growth areas for me to learn so that I can now manage my time across writing, podcasting, strategic coaching, and deepening my organizing. My steady growth now means I have a suite of trainings, resources, and writings for communicators to use now in their work and heart-first humans to deepen their activism.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

One of my larger obstacles to growing and supporting more folks is partly by design. The roots of change agency and our financial model is created differently, which adds an extra layer of explanation. We are a 100% community-led model and not funded by grants, organizations, or investors.

That can be challenging in a world where many are used to free media supported by advertising. However, having been in the adverting business for 15+ years, I recognize it’s harms. Our financial models are designed to move away from the traditional advertising model so that the community can shape our growth to meet their needs.

There are far too many activists and organizations working to create positive change without the finances or support. The benefit of a community-led model is that when folks support our work with a paid membership or by becoming a supporter, we can offer more resources and support for the whole community. My hope with this model is to help us learn and grow in our work collectively.

In order to overcome the initial hump of understanding how we support, I both talk about and act based on our theory of change. I’m a big believer in showing by doing. In our modern world, we don’t have many positive community-led models. The Mondragon Corporation in the Basque region of Spain is a long-standing example that not many people are aware of. It means I need to be vocal about why we have a community-led model and what the value is on a broader societal scale. There is a lot of media noise and people are being bombarded by advertising messages constantly. I try to be clear, honest, and meet folks where they are.

It’s about staying human while we are working towards change. The more I connect and communicate like a regular person (and not an AI-written digital ad), the more the roots of change agency can help connect folks to a new way of thinking about work.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

1. Photo by Sam Chavez with Bear, the corgi, in Phoenix, AZ while canvassing and organizing for the 2024 election
2. Photo by Sam Chavez in San Francisco, CA while poll working for the March 2024 primary elections
3. Photo by Sam Chavez in the Bay Area of California sharing a story called ‘The Texas Tomboy and the Billionaire’
4. Photo by Brooke Anderson, movement photographer (https://www.movementphotographer.com) in San Francisco, CA
5. Photo by Sam Chavez with Bear, the corgi, in Nevada while canvassing and organizing for the 2024 election
6. Photo by Arizona Native Democrats in Whiteriver, AZ with Jonathan Nez and members of the Arizona Native Democrats

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