Sammy Luffy

Sammy Luffy (she/her) is thrilled to be joining Funders for LGBTQ Issues as Director of Research! She is passionate about designing feminist research projects that center the expertise of communities and recognize the intersectionality of all social justice movements, including climate justice, racial justice, gender justice, and disability justice.

Sammy has an extensive background in global health, with a focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights through her work with both governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Prior to joining Funders for LGBTQ Issues, Sammy was the Director of Research at PAI and the Policy Research Officer at Fòs Feminista (formerly CHANGE). In these roles, she managed and led critical policy research projects to document the impact of national and U.S. foreign policies on key issues, such as access to contraception and abortion services; gender-based violence prevention and care; rights-based HIV/AIDS services; respectful maternity care; and integrated service delivery. Her research has improved technical guidance related to U.S. global health programs and increased congressional oversight of the implementation of U.S. foreign policies, such as the Global Gag Rule, by U.S. government agencies. While at the Office of HIV/AIDS in the Bureau for Global Health within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), she managed the implementation of multi-country HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment programs supported by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). In this role, she provided technical support to clinical research, implementation science, and human-centered design projects related to biomedical HIV prevention.

Sammy holds a master’s degree in global public health with a certificate in human rights from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from the University of Mary Washington. While earning her master’s, Sammy designed and conducted a feminist qualitative research project in Ocotal, Nicaragua to document cultural attitudes related to gender, as well as young women’s personal experiences with unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, and violence in the context of the national law banning abortion.

Sammy lives in Washington, DC with her cat, Kendrick Jerome, loves to bike all over town, and thinks the 9:30 Club is the best concert venue just about anywhere.