Sam Seidel is the author of Hip Hop Genius: Remixing High School Education (www.hiphopgenius.org). He has taught in a variety of settings, from first grade to community college, and directed arts programs for young people affected by incarceration. Sam has been involved in multiple projects aimed at ending the prison industrial complex, including work with Drop the Rock and the Criminal Justice Initiative.

Disappointed by the racist and ineffective actions of major relief organizations after Hurricane Katrina, Sam was a founding member of the Gulf South Allied Funders, a group that raised over $3 million dollars for grassroots organizations doing equitable rebuilding work in the Gulf South region.  Sam now works with several national networks of innovative high schools, speaks at education events and on college campuses, and writes for The Husslington Post, as well as other publications. Sam serves on the boards of AS220, Operation REACH, and Resource Generation. He is a recovering sneaker addict.