Her Story
About Samantha
Samantha Weber is a goal-oriented and results-driven professional whose work bridges healthcare advocacy, nonprofit leadership, and financial operations. Based in Scottsdale, she combines her background in finance and healthcare management with deeply personal lived experience to advocate for medically complex children and their families.
Samantha earned her Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a concentration in Digital Audiences from Arizona State University and later completed her MBA in Healthcare Management through Southern New Hampshire University while balancing career responsibilities and caregiving challenges. Her professional path reflects resilience, analytical thinking, and a passion for improving systems that directly impact vulnerable populations.
Driven by her experiences as a mother of three, including one child diagnosed with a rare leukodystrophy (ALD) through newborn screening and another who was born prematurely and required a NICU stay, Samantha founded Pediatric Care Advocates, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting families navigating complex pediatric healthcare and insurance systems.
Through her advocacy work, she helps parents understand insurance appeals, hospital billing practices, patient rights, and healthcare processes while also championing reforms focused on transparency, accountability, and equitable care. Her organization emphasizes practical tools, education, and emotional support for caregivers facing overwhelming medical challenges.
Samantha has also become a voice within the rare disease community, sharing her family’s journey and speaking at events to promote awareness and systemic change in pediatric healthcare.
Before transitioning into nonprofit leadership and advocacy, Samantha spent several years building a strong foundation in higher education finance and compliance. She worked in financial services and account management roles at both Arizona State University and Southern New Hampshire University, where she specialized in audits, regulatory compliance, financial aid operations, and resolving complex student account issues.
Known for her integrity, organization, and strategic mindset, she has consistently approached her work with a commitment to ethical practice and helping others navigate difficult systems with confidence.
Through every stage of her career, Samantha has remained dedicated to empowering families, improving healthcare experiences, and creating meaningful impact through advocacy and education.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Samantha
01What do you attribute your success to?
I have a firm belief that everything happens for the greater good. Like many people, I've been through a significant amount of hardship throughout my life, including childhood challenges, but I've always held this belief that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes the reason isn't about you - sometimes it's about other people, and it happens for the greater good. This belief has really pushed me through difficult times and kept me moving forward. It might sound cliche, but it's been the foundation that's carried me through everything I've accomplished.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Be the squeaky wheel. One of my very first bosses, told me that while I was working as a marketing manager for his property management team. He's a very successful businessman who owns several different businesses. That advice has stuck with me because everything I have done has taken a lot longer than I feel like it should have, but at my core, I just keep going and being the squeaky wheel, because most people aren't going to persist, and if you keep at it, you're going to eventually get through.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
You deserve to be there too.
Maybe that sounds a little bold, but I think young women especially need to hear it. As a woman who’s been through some really hard seasons, I know how easy it is to start believing you don’t deserve success or that you somehow haven’t earned your place.
I had to work through that myself.
So my advice: You deserve to be there. Own your seat, keep showing up, and get after it
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges families face are fragmented care, poor patient technology, overwhelming amounts of medical information, insurance barriers, and a lack of meaningful accountability for large insurance companies and hospital systems. These are the problems I am working to address through Pediatric Care Advocates.
I also see a major opportunity to improve mental health support for families navigating complex pediatric care. Better care, clearer communication, and stronger support systems can significantly reduce stress and improve a family’s overall well-being. As someone who has gone through my own personal medical journeys, this will always remain at the forefront of my work.
Other opportunities include creating easier insurance pathways, developing stronger policies for children identified through newborn screening, building sibling support and youth ambassador programs, and designing medical timeline tools and practical resources that help families stay organized, communicate more effectively, and navigate the healthcare system with less overwhelm.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
My professional and personal values really overlap - transparency, honesty, and being ethical are most important to me. This really stands out in healthcare because hospitals and insurance companies have to be compliant, and if they're not, that crosses the boundary into being dishonest and unethical. That's where my passion really gets fiery, because I feel it at my core. As a mom, I make sure I'm the one who speaks up for my children, and then I get to be that for everybody else that needs me too.
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