Sam G. Brinker

Background

About Sam G. Brinker

Sam is General Counsel at Equitas Health where he experiences the great honor of carrying out his heart work. Sam believes in the importance of heart work - so many of us put in hard work constantly, but the heart work is what fills us up and overflows to touch the lives of others. It's where we take our talents and our gifts and we combine them with our passions and giving back to better those around us and, in the process, we better ourselves too. Sam never could have guessed that when he walked through the doors of Equitas Health several years ago to become a patient and receive life-altering and live-saving, gender-affirming care, that he would one day be on this journey as General Counsel. But, for it, he is so very grateful. Humbly, as Sam began and went through his own gender transition, he told himself he'd never forget the people whose stories are not like his, who don't have parents who call them "son", who don't have a support system forged in steel - trans women of color who are forced into sex work because they aren't lawyers and they don't have the opportunity for a job like this one, LGBTQ+ folks and BIPOC who have everything to offer but nowhere to live, LGBTQ+ folks and BIPOC who need HIV medication and testing, doctors' appointments, and just a little help changing their name. Now Sam has the privilege of remembering and helping them in the daily work he does too with an incredible team. If Equitas Health has helped a privileged trans man from the suburbs in a marked way, then Equitas Health is truly changing the lives of people whose stories aren't so paved in gold. Without Equitas Health Sam may not be here today. And he doesn't mean "here today" as in here today, as General Counsel at Equitas Health (which he recognizes is a very privileged place to be). What he actually means is that he may not be here today at all. Care has a very profound effect on everything then, if it has the ability to determine our very existence. So we meet people where they are, we care for all, and we experience the beauty of heart work in community. Sam graduated first in his class, summa cum laude, from the University of Dayton School of Law (“UDSL”). While at UDSL, he served in many roles and was awarded many distinctions. He has a Bachelor of English from Wright State University, where he graduated cum laude. Sam is also a notary public, ordained minister and an experienced public speaker and speech writer.