Samantha Medlock

Samantha Medlock is the president of Climate Risk Advisors, supporting communities and organizations working to reduce risks and prosper with greater sustainability and resilience. Until April 2025, she served as Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Assistant Administrator for Resilience Strategy, overseeing FEMA policy, doctrine, and strategy for federal grants, risk analysis, hazard mitigation, and insurance programs. Sam was senior counsel to the House of Representatives Select Committee on the Climate Crisis during the 116th and 117th Congresses, managing the Committee’s science, public health, infrastructure, housing, finance, and national security portfolios. She joined the Committee from a private sector role developing innovative solutions for clients in climate risk management, insurance, and finance. Sam served as a senior advisor in the White House Office of Management and Budget and deputy director in the Council on Environmental Quality, coordinating resilience policy across the Executive Office of the President and the Administration, modernizing federal flood policy, and steering partnerships with local leaders and the private sector. Before her White House appointments, she was policy counsel for the Association of State Floodplain Managers and served at the local and regional levels of government in the State of Texas. 

Sam was awarded the Army Commander’s Award for Public Service for her service on the National Committee on Levee Safety created by Congress after Hurricane Katrina. She is a certified floodplain manager and holds a Juris Doctor degree from Vermont Law School and a Bachelor of Science degree summa cum laude from Texas Woman’s University.