Mariesa Samba is a clinical social worker, wellness educator, and creative.  Mariesa has nearly ten years of experience as an advocate, organizer, and mental health provider. 

he is currently employed as a school-based Psychiatric Social Worker at Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) within the Black Student Achievement Plan (BSAP) unit.  In this role she services Black students and families with culturally responsive care.  Prior to that, Mariesa organized kinship families and coordinated local campaigns on justice reinvestment, nuisance abatement and neighborhood reinvestment in South Los Angeles. 

Mariesa has a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies from Vassar College and a Master’s degree in Social Welfare from the University of California, Los Angeles.  She is an alumna of the Justice Policy Network Fellowship, Public Allies Los Angeles, and Jubilee Service Year. 

Mariesa is the proud daughter of Black immigrants who came to the United States seeking refuge from the Sierra Leone Rebel War.  She is passionate about abolition feminism, community-based care and popular education tools.  She enjoys going to concerts, writing poetry, and gardening.