Director, Office of Disability Affairs
City of Detroit

With more than a decade of advocacy work on behalf of people with disabilities, Christopher Samp is the Director of the newly created Office of Disability Affairs for the City of Detroit.

The office fosters inclusion, representation, and equity for more than 117,000 city residents with disabilities. His lifelong commitment to advocacy for social justice and disability rights stems from his personal experience as a Deaf person.

Before moving back to Detroit, Samp worked for several non-profit organizations in higher education and the government. And he worked for two U.S. Senators, Dick Durbin and Kirsten Gillibrand,

Samp has been recognized for the Outstanding Contribution Award by Deaf in Government and received the "Policy Maker of the Year" Award from The Arc Detroit for his work on prioritizing vaccinations for people with disabilities.

He is a board member and public relations coordinator for the Michigan Deaf Association

A graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology in New York with both a bachelor's and master's degree, Samp coordinated and established three scholarship and endowment funds for students at the Institute.

He was born and raised in Troy and still lives there.

The information presented here was accurate as of January 1, 2022.