Kearia C. Sams was born and raised in the “All-America City” of Buffalo, New York.
In 2015, Sams relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina, and began working at Atrium Health’s Levine Cancer Institute (LCI) as a receptionist. However, she has grown through the ranks over her six years of service at LCI.
With a strong customer service background, compassionate heart, eye for detail, and ambition to learn and develop, Sams is now the business operations manager of the LCI’s Hemophilia Treatment Center (HTC).
Earning a bachelor of arts degree in liberal arts from Daemen in 2015 allowed Sams to take a diverse set of courses, and she continues to draw upon what she learned at the college.
Passionate about helping others and making a difference, she has made a concerted effort to join and serve on several boards in the greater Charlotte community.
Currently, she is the co-lead for African American Women Exemplifying a Commitment to Equity and Leadership (A² WeXcel) System Resource Group at Atrium Health, and a member of WTVI’s PBS Young Leaders Council. In 2017-18, Sams was the chairperson of LCI-Morehead’s Steering Committee, as well as a member of the HTC task force.
In 2016, Sams was also a member of Atrium Health Foundation’s Stiletto Sprint Committee, which raised funds for ovarian cancer research and support services.
Those who work with Sams describe her as a self-motivated worker who identifies gaps and yearns to fill them to benefit others.
For instance, during her onboarding process as a staff assistant, she saw an opportunity to write procedures for those who would join the team later so that each teammate would have documents to serve as a guide. This initiative to write step-by-step procedures for daily operations within her first two weeks on the team gained her the Key Engagement Award (KEAP) in the winter of 2016.
In 2018, Sams worked closely with the Nonmalignant Hematology Department at LCI to establish the federally-funded HTC. Her commitment to learning about the bleeding and clotting disorder community to contribute to the execution of gaining the HTC’s federal designation earned Sams a second KEAP award.
With her experience in administration, she realized her calling is in health care operations. Shortly thereafter, Sams enrolled in Pfeiffer University’s Master of Health Administration / Master of Science in Leadership program and graduated in August 2020.
Dedicated to scholarship and leadership, the Pfeiffer University Upsilon Phi Delta Chapter of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) Honor Society invited Sams to join as a member in October 2019.
Sams also engages in volunteer service through Elevation Church, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., LCI, and the Atrium Health Foundation. In her free time, she loves to travel, spend quality time with family and friends, and read inspirational books.
Grateful for the wisdom and encouragement from mentors, family, and friends, she loves to pass on the words from the late African-American poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”