Originally from Durham, NC, when Sam first came to Costa Rica 10 years ago it was to work with primates, her first love.  Through her work with another rescue center, she met and fell in love with sloths.  She spent two years caring for and rehabilitating the sloths in their program before starting The Sloth Institute in August of 2014. Her passion  for working with animals started as a teenage volunteer at the Duke Lemur Center, where she worked  for over 10 years while completing a Bachelors degree in Zoology in 2003 and a Master of Science in Primate Conservation from Oxford Brookes University in the UK in 2006.

After multiple expeditions to Madagascar, West Africa, and Central America, in January 2013, she settled in Costa Rica.  She is also an author and photographer who focuses on wildlife conservation through intimate and compelling photos and storytelling. Her first photo book, “Slothlove”, was published  and released April 2016.