Meet our President/CEO

Siobhan "Sam" Bennett joined She Should Run as President/CEO in April 2009.

Sam Bennett’s career has many facets – congressional candidate, businesswoman, community leader, and now President/CEO of She Should Run.

At the helm of She Should Run, Sam has fostered collaboration with many Sister Allied Organizations such as White House Project, National Organization for Women, Women's Media Center, Feminist Majority, Running Start, and WUFPAC. She has appeared on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews, Fox News' America's News HQ, Fox News Radio, CNN International, and To the Contrary with Bonnie Erbe. Click here to read the full list of Sam's media appearances.

In November 2008, Sam ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in Pennsylvania’s 15th congressional district. A first-time congressional candidate, she garnered national attention with her fundraising skills and won the endorsements of over forty national organizations including, the Women’s Campaign Fund, League of Conservation Voters, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and EMILY’s List. Though ultimately losing her race to incumbent Charles Dent, she obtained more votes than any other Democratic candidate in the district’s history and raised more money than any local Democrat had ever raised for that seat.

Sam first ran for political office in 2001, when she nearly defeated long-time State Senator Roy Afflerbach in the Allentown mayoral race – losing by only 46 votes in PA’s third largest city. In 2004, Sam took the position of Lehigh Valley Regional Field Director for America Coming Together (ACT), a 501(c) 4 non-partisan voter registration group helping lead the effort that resulted in PA-15 being the top performing swing region in the country. Her leadership was showcased in the award-winning documentary “Hollerback” and featured in the international press. Sam continues to be actively involved in politics, most recently serving as the elected Chair of the Allentown City Democratic Committee and 1st Vice-Chair of Lehigh County Democratic Committee, in charge of “Get Out the Vote” (GOTV) operations county-wide.

Following in the community service footsteps of her grandfather, O.W. “Bud” Bennett, the long-time national president of Cub Scouting and creator of Explorers, Sam founded and has led for over 20 years Properties of Merit - a non-profit organization that works to spur citizen involvement and “bottom-up” private and public investment in the critical work of revitalizing communities. As a Board Director and former Statewide Director and CEO, Sam has grown Properties of Merit into a highly successful statewide program, supported by Governor Rendell and the Department of Community and Economic Development, foundations, private donors and corporate partners including major statewide underwriter The Home Depot.

Sam spent her teenage years in Singapore and Vietnam, while her stepfather was acting administrator of the Barsky Unit in Saigon, Vietnam which provided plastic surgery to war injured children. Sam lived all over Vietnam before attending SUNY Oneonta in New York as a Regents Scholar. After graduating, Sam used her entrepreneurial skills to launch a successful cookie company while simultaneously purchasing, renovating and managing rental properties in Oneonta. She ultimately relocated to Leigh Valley, Pennsylvania in 1986 pursuing a career in corporate business management with Bell Atlantic Yellow Pages.

Now a 23-year resident of Allentown, Sam is married to Martin Ulloa Estrada, and has three children - a son, David, and 2 daughters, Emma and Rachael. Over the past decade, Sam and her family have been engaged in an award-winning restoration of The Historic Benner Home, one of Allentown’s most significant historic properties.