Sam Beckbessinger serves as the Strategic Director of Quirk, Africa’s largest digital marketing agency. She helps big companies understand how to cope with new technological advancements. In 2011, she was awarded the Adfocus New Broom award for young talent in the industry. Sam is involved in other activities including writing short stories, creating podcasts, lecturing extensively on online culture and digital marketing, and serving as a course content developer for Vega and Red&Yellow. She’s  involved in projects that involve mentoring startups and teaching teenage girls to code. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree (honors) in Creative Writing. Upon returning from the Washington Fellowship, Sam plans to continue to help business leaders understand how to better deliver key services to the emerging middle market through digital technology.  Sam was one of 100 Fellows competitively selected to participate in an 8-week internship in the United States following the Mandela Washington Fellowship academic institute.  She interned at Western Union in August-September 2014.