As Vice President of Safety Net Programs, Karla Samayoa oversees the strategy and operations of the Safety Net Programs division, which aims to connect clients to services in a proactive and holistic way. She is dedicated to creating seamless access to programs in our communities, especially for vulnerable and hard to reach populations. Karla lends vision, strategy and infrastructure support to over 25 subcontracting agencies in San Diego and across California.

Karla has been at 211 San Diego since 2013, and in her tenure, she has successfully overseen several departments and programs that aim to reduce poverty in our communities. She is an expert at building and growing initiatives, especially resilient internal team structures, nonprofit business development strategies, and cross-functional partnerships to scale the impact of our social safety network. She previously served as the Director of Safety Net Programs where she redesigned several key programs to provide a more cohesive, person-centered service to clients. Karla has successfully implemented data-driven strategies to assist people in complex situations and is a dynamic and creative leader that aims to modernize the client experience in the social services landscape. She is passionate about growing and developing her team to lead change, drive process improvement, and consistently deliver excellent client service. As an expert at designing, implementing, and expanding large-scale grants, she leads some of the largest CalFresh and CalEITC programs in the state of California. She currently oversees over five teams that are comprised of more than 140 staff members

Karla brings a background of program implementation to serve underprivileged communities. Prior to working at 211 San Diego, Karla oversaw afterschool programs that aimed to provide resources and additional support to students and parents in low-income communities. Karla has a Master’s degree in American Literature from San Diego State University, loves hiking, reading, and cooking, and lives in North County with her husband and their two pugs.

She graduated Magna Cum Laude from California State University, San Marcos (CSUSM) with a Bachelor’s Degree in History and received her Master’s Degree in the History of US Foreign Relations from The American University in Washington, DC. Suzie currently lives in Oceanside, CA with her husband and two kitties.