Dr. Josephine-Mary (Josie) Sam

Dr. Josephine-Mary (Josie) Sam holds a PhD in Natural Resources and Sustainability and an MS in Natural Resources Management from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), as well as a BA in English and History from the Kwame University Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. She is currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the International Arctic Research Center, UAF, working on climate change adaptation and planning in rural Alaskan communities.

Dr. Sam is co-founder and program director of the Nyarkoa Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to improve community water and sanitation in rural Ghana. She continues to conduct research to inform the design, implementation and management of the Foundation’s water program, and also coordinates its monitoring and evaluation.

She has conducted research into the varied impacts of improved clean water access on rural communities in Ghana, and the determinants of sustainable rural water supply projects. She has taught undergraduate classes in Natural Resource Conservation and Policy at UAF, and worked with Ghanaian organizations dealing with microfinance (Ecumenical Church Loan Fund [ECLOF]), human rights (Ark Foundation Ghana), sustainable agriculture and rural development (Ecumenical Association for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development [ECASARD] and Rural Education and Development Program [REDEP]).

Her research interests include sustainable natural resource management, climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as sustainable rural development.