Sam Jones is president and co-founder of Heartland Initiative, where he specializes in the development of methodologies, tools, and strategies for investors seeking to address the most severe and systemic human rights and material risks across their portfolios. He has extensive experience and expertise in social risk analysis, conflict-sensitive programming, international humanitarian and human rights law, and corporate accountability advocacy.
Prior to co-founding Heartland Initiative, Sam worked as Associate Director of the Human Rights Program at The Carter Center (TCC) where he managed programs in the Middle East and Democratic Republic of the Congo, including those focused on corporate accountability for human rights harms in the industrial extractives sector and the protection of human rights defenders. While at TCC, Sam also served as visiting faculty for Emory University's Master's in Development Practice program. Sam previously worked as the regional representative for Asia/Near East for Counterpart International, where he managed programs in Iraq and Jordan focused on grassroots community mobilization and infrastructure development and led emergency assessment missions to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, and Afghanistan.
Sam is a native of western North Carolina, earning his master’s degree in international peace and conflict resolution from American University’s School of International Service and his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of North Carolina - Asheville.
Samuel Jones, President & Co-founder, Heartland Initiative
