Stephen Samuels is Vice-President of Innovation & Impact Investing for the national office of Volunteers of America, one of the nation’s largest and most experienced non-profit health, housing and human service organizations, serving nearly 2 million individuals in over 400 communities. In his role, Stephen directs market-driven business growth with multi-sector impact capital partners for scaling housing production, expanding value-based healthcare service lines, and piloting new social enterprises. He also oversees VOA’s impact investing subsidiary, Futures Fund, which has invested $3 million in catalytic capital to drive innovation and entrepreneurship both within the organization and with external early-stage founders. Prior to joining VOA, Stephen was the Executive Director in Greater Kansas City for Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), one of the country’s largest community development financial institutions. Stephen received his degrees in urban planning and business real estate from the University of Cincinnati. He currently lives in San Diego, CA with his wife, and spends his spare time riding horses, scuba diving, playing tennis and supporting arts and culture in the community.
