Samy Nemir Olivares

Samy was born and raised by a single mother with disabilities in the small rural town of Yauco in Puerto Rico. Growing up, their family struggled to make ends meet and were forced to rely on government programs to keep them out of poverty. Public programs were how Samy’s family could go to school, keep a roof over their head, and food on the table.

Samy migrated to New York with a suitcase, $200, and enough student loan debt to last them a lifetime—but nothing has deterred them from fighting for a better world. In our city, Samy started working as a journalist to document the important stories of marginalized communities. Samy later worked at the Center For Popular Democracy; in campaigns to end the school to prison pipeline, fight for workers and immigrant rights, and push for free universal healthcare for all. Today, Samy works as an advocate in a civil rights nonprofit LGBTQ people and people living with HIV.

Samy is running for the Assembly because their community needs a voice in Albany. During COVID-19, Samy organized and worked hard to help feed thousands of families while some local leaders were absent and neglectful. Samy was fighting to tax the rich to fund the first in the nation Excluded Workers Fund, the current Assemblymember was nowhere to be found. Samy knows what it’s like to struggle to make ends meet and won’t let absent leadership be the reason more people in their community suffer.