Sami Cortes is a Program Manager with Reach Out and Read and a former early childhood educator. She has nearly a decade of experience supporting children and families through trauma-informed, culturally responsive programming that centers early literacy and family engagement. Sami holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Education in Early Childhood Education from the University of Nevada–Las Vegas.

Her work has spanned the classroom, health centers, and national nonprofit strategy—developing and managing literacy and parent engagement programs across the Northeast and Western New York. Sami is passionate about helping parents become their children’s first and most powerful teachers by connecting them with meaningful, developmentally appropriate tools for learning.