Samantha Bakall | Communications Director

Pronouns: She / Her / Hers

Samantha Bakall is a queer, Chinese American former food journalist whose writing has centered diverse communities across the Pacific Northwest. Before joining Seeding Justice, Samantha worked for The Oregonian and was the only staff food writer of color in the state. After leaving the paper, she worked as a freelance writer specializing in issues of diversity in food, particularly about the AAPI diaspora. She mentored historically excluded youth interested in journalism for five years, and in 2019 and 2020, designed and ran Amplify, a summer internship for high school journalists from historically excluded communities in partnership with Metro and Pamplin Media.

When she’s not writing, you can find Samantha baking or cooking intricate meals, hiking or kayaking (oftentimes both) across the West, or heading out on a camping adventure in her home-built camper.

Samantha lives in Portland with her partner, and more plants, kitchen equipment and house projects than she should; she started at Seeding Justice in 2021.