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{{Infobox Person
{{Infobox Person
|name = Topeka Kimberly Sam
|name = Topeka Kimberly Sam
|birth_place = New York, United States
|birth_place = Long Island, New York
|charges = Drug trafficking conspiracy
|charges = Conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine
|sentence = 10+ years
|sentence = 130 months
|facility = FCI Danbury
|facility = FCI Danbury
|status = Pardoned
|status = Released
|conviction_date = January 2013
|conviction_date = January 11, 2013
|release_date = December 23, 2020 (pardoned)
|release_date = May 5, 2015
|pardon_date = December 23, 2020
}}
}}


'''Topeka Kimberly Sam''' is an American criminal justice reform advocate and former federal prisoner. In January 2013, she was sentenced to over 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to her role in a drug trafficking conspiracy. Prior to her arrest, Sam had led a double life as an entrepreneur while selling cocaine on the East Coast. She was released from Federal Correctional Institution Danbury in 2015 and became a prominent advocate for incarcerated women and criminal justice reform. Sam founded Ladies of Hope Ministries, helped bring attention to the case of Alice Marie Johnson, and spoke at the White House Prison Reform Summit in 2018. President Donald Trump granted Sam a full [[Presidential Clemency and Pardons|pardon]] on December 23, 2020, citing her efforts in criminal justice reform.<ref name="wiki">Wikipedia, "Topeka Sam," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topeka_Sam</ref>
'''Topeka Kimberly Sam''' is an American criminal justice reform advocate and the founder of The Ladies of Hope Ministries, a nonprofit that helps women returning home from incarceration. She pleaded guilty in 2013 to one count of conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine and received a 130-month federal sentence.<ref name="wh" /> She served roughly three years and was released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, on May 5, 2015.<ref name="wiki" /><ref name="wh" />


== Summary ==
After her release, Sam built a career around reentry work for women. She started The Ladies of Hope Ministries, opened a transitional house in the Bronx, and pushed for changes to how prisons treat women and mothers. She helped draw national attention to the clemency case of Alice Marie Johnson. She spoke at a White House summit on prison reform in 2018 and joined the board of The Marshall Project, the criminal justice news organization.<ref name="grio" /><ref name="variety" />


Topeka Sam's story represents a striking example of transformation from federal prisoner to nationally recognized criminal justice reform advocate. Before her conviction, Sam lived what she has described as a double life: on one hand, she was an entrepreneur running an online mobile phone case boutique and serving as a division chairwoman at a leading transportation agency; on the other, she was selling large quantities of cocaine on the East Coast.
President Donald Trump granted Sam a full pardon on December 23, 2020. The White House statement called her life "a story of redemption" and credited her advocacy for the First Step Act.<ref name="wh" /> In 2022 she received Google's first Social Impact Award, which carried a $100,000 grant, and an honorary doctorate from New York Theological Seminary.<ref name="variety" /><ref name="drsite" />


Her federal conviction and imprisonment, rather than ending her prospects, became the catalyst for a new mission. After her early release from FCI Danbury in 2015, Sam dedicated herself to helping other women transition from incarceration back into society. She founded Ladies of Hope Ministries, established Hope House to provide transitional housing for female parolees, and became a vocal advocate for criminal justice reform.
== Background and Conviction ==


Sam's advocacy work included helping to bring national attention to the case of Alice Marie Johnson, a grandmother serving a life sentence for a first-time nonviolent drug offense. Sam produced a video about Johnson's case that went viral, catching the attention of Kim Kardashian, who subsequently lobbied President Trump for Johnson's clemency. Johnson received clemency in 2018 and a full pardon in 2020.
Sam grew up on Long Island, New York, in a predominantly white neighborhood. Her parents ran businesses. They owned a Carvel ice cream franchise in Brooklyn and later opened a restaurant in Harlem.<ref name="honey" /> She has described her childhood as comfortable. "We had every single opportunity," she told one interviewer. "I had the piano lessons, the dance lessons."<ref name="grio" />


Sam herself was pardoned in December 2020, with the White House citing her reform work as the basis for the pardon.
She enrolled at Morgan State University, a historically Black university in Baltimore. She has said she chose an HBCU to be around people who shared her background, a contrast to the neighborhood where she was raised.<ref name="wiki" />


== Background ==
At Morgan State she began dating a man who sold drugs. She started connecting buyers with sellers. That role grew. By her own account, she watched how easily money moved through the trade and decided she could run it herself.<ref name="honey" /> After college she kept at it. She coordinated cocaine transactions on the East Coast while presenting herself as a businesswoman. She ran an online phone-case shop and held a position at a transportation agency. She has called it "a double life."<ref name="wiki" />


=== Early Career ===
Federal agents arrested her on April 24, 2012. Prosecutors tied her to a drug conspiracy that involved the acquisition of cocaine, including a transaction of 80 kilograms.<ref name="wiki" /> The case was charged in the Eastern District of Virginia, a court known for moving cases fast.


Before her federal conviction, Topeka Sam pursued multiple business ventures. She operated an online mobile phone case boutique and held a position as a division chairwoman at a leading transportation agency.
On January 11, 2013, Sam pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine.<ref name="wh" /> The judge sentenced her to 130 months. The sentence reflected the drug quantities and the federal mandatory minimums that apply to large cocaine conspiracies. She was sent to the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, a low-security prison for women.<ref name="honey" /><ref name="wh" />


However, Sam was simultaneously involved in drug trafficking, selling large quantities of cocaine on the East Coast.
== Incarceration ==


== Criminal Case ==
FCI Danbury has held a number of well-known inmates, among them Martha Stewart. Sam spent about three years there. What she saw shaped the work she would do afterward.


=== Indictment and Guilty Plea ===
She has described watching women give birth in handcuffs and then lose access to their newborns. She has said sanitary products were rationed so tightly that women made pads from scraps of bedding.<ref name="honey" /><ref name="grio" /> "I knew I was called to do this work when I was in prison," she later said.<ref name="grio" />


In 2012, Sam was indicted as part of an ongoing federal investigation into drug trafficking. She pleaded guilty to her role in a drug trafficking conspiracy.<ref name="wiki" />
Sam worked to shorten her sentence. She wrote to the judge. She filed an appeal. She completed the Residential Drug Abuse Program, a Bureau of Prisons treatment course that can take up to a year off a sentence for inmates who finish it.<ref name="wiki" /> Her sentence was reduced. She was released on May 5, 2015, after serving roughly three years of the 130-month term.<ref name="wiki" /><ref name="wh" />


=== Sentencing ===
== Advocacy and The Ladies of Hope Ministries ==


In January 2013, Sam was sentenced to over 10 years in federal prison for her role in the conspiracy.
Sam founded The Ladies of Hope Ministries in 2017. The nonprofit helps women rebuild after prison. It works on education, housing, food, and emotional support for women and their families.<ref name="nolan" /><ref name="wh" />


=== Imprisonment ===
The organization runs several programs. The Angel Food delivery program addresses food insecurity in families touched by incarceration. By December 2022 it had delivered more than 9,000 bags of groceries.<ref name="lohm" /> Hope House NYC, in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx, gives women on parole a place to live as they reenter society. Sam set it up with Vanee Sykes, who had also been incarcerated.<ref name="lohm" /> Other programs help women learn job skills and start their own businesses.<ref name="nolan" />


Sam served her sentence at Federal Correctional Institution Danbury (FCI Danbury) in Connecticut, a minimum-security federal prison for female inmates. FCI Danbury has housed numerous notable inmates, including Martha Stewart.
Sam helped bring the case of Alice Marie Johnson into the national conversation. Johnson, a grandmother, was serving a life sentence for a first-time nonviolent drug offense and had been in federal prison for more than two decades. Sam produced a video about Johnson's case. It spread on social media and reached Kim Kardashian, who took the case to the Trump administration and met the president in the Oval Office.<ref name="be" /> Trump granted Johnson clemency in June 2018, and she walked out after 21 years. He pardoned her in 2020.<ref name="be" />


Sam was released from FCI Danbury in 2015, having served approximately three years of her sentence.
Sam co-founded the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. Through that group she worked with Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker on the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act, a bill aimed at conditions for women and mothers behind bars.<ref name="grio" /> She backed the First Step Act, the federal reform law Trump signed in December 2018. The law cut some mandatory minimums, expanded reentry support, and reworked the good-time credit system.<ref name="wh" />


== Criminal Justice Advocacy ==
In 2018 Sam spoke at a White House summit on prison reform. She described the conditions she had seen, including the lack of sanitary products and the separation of mothers from their children.<ref name="wiki" /> She also joined the board of The Marshall Project, becoming the first formerly incarcerated woman to serve on it.<ref name="variety" />


=== Ladies of Hope Ministries ===
== Recognition ==


In 2017, Sam founded the non-profit organization Ladies of Hope Ministries to help women transition back into society after incarceration. The organization provides resources related to education, housing, and groceries.<ref name="nolan">Nolan Center for Justice, "Highlighting Women in Criminal Justice Reform: Topeka Sam," https://conservativejusticereform.org/highlighting-women-in-criminal-justice-reform-topeka-sam/</ref>
President Trump granted Sam a full pardon on December 23, 2020. The White House statement called her life "a story of redemption" and said she had become "a powerful advocate for criminal justice reform" after completing three years of her sentence. It named her work with The Ladies of Hope Ministries and her support for the First Step Act. The statement listed Alice Johnson and David Safavian among those who backed the pardon.<ref name="wh" />


==== Programs ====
Reporting later described a separate effort on her behalf. According to NOLA.com, hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb lobbied the White House for Sam's pardon after one of his companies partnered with The Ladies of Hope Ministries.<ref name="nola" />


* '''Angel Food Delivery Program:''' By December 2022, this program had delivered over 9,000 bags of groceries to families impacted by the criminal justice system
On May 5, 2022, seven years to the day after her release, Google named Sam the recipient of its first Social Impact Award for her work to reduce incarceration among women. The award included a $100,000 grant.<ref name="variety" /> That same month she received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from New York Theological Seminary. She is often referred to as Dr. Topeka K. Sam.<ref name="drsite" />
* '''Hope House:''' Transitional housing for female parolees, established in the Castle Hill neighborhood of the Bronx with fellow formerly incarcerated woman Vanee Sykes


=== Alice Marie Johnson Case ===
Sam hosted a show on SiriusXM's Urban View channel. She has appeared on programs including The Tamron Hall Show, CNN, MSNBC, and Today, and has been featured in Vogue, Essence, Rolling Stone, Variety, and The New York Times.<ref name="drsite" /> She sits on the boards of Operation Restoration, Pure Legacee, and the United Justice Coalition.<ref name="variety" />
 
Sam played a significant role in bringing national attention to the case of Alice Marie Johnson, a grandmother who was serving a life sentence for a first-time nonviolent drug offense.
 
Sam produced a video about Johnson's case that gained widespread viewership. The video inspired reality television star and businesswoman Kim Kardashian to lobby the Trump administration for Johnson's clemency.
 
The advocacy was successful: President Trump granted Johnson clemency in 2018, and a full pardon in 2020.<ref name="be">Black Enterprise, "Topeka Sam, the Woman Who Facilitated a Trump Clemency, Talks Power of Entrepreneurship," https://www.blackenterprise.com/topeka-sam-trump-johnson-clemency/</ref>
 
=== First Step Act ===
 
Sam advocated for The First Step Act, landmark criminal justice reform legislation that:
* Reduced mandatory minimum sentences for certain nonviolent offenses
* Improved prison conditions
* Provided better support for individuals reentering society after incarceration
 
The First Step Act was signed into law by President Trump in December 2018.
 
=== White House Prison Reform Summit ===
 
In 2018, Sam was invited to speak at the White House Prison Reform Summit. She shared insights derived from her experience in federal prison, including discussing conditions and challenges faced by incarcerated women, such as difficulties obtaining sanitary products.
 
== Presidential Pardon ==
 
On December 23, 2020, President Donald Trump granted Topeka Sam a full pardon.<ref name="wiki" />
 
=== White House Statement ===
 
The White House cited Sam's efforts in criminal justice reform as the basis for the pardon, recognizing her transformation from federal inmate to reform advocate.
 
=== Facilitation ===
 
The pardon was facilitated by businessman Daniel Loeb, who lobbied the White House on Sam's behalf. Loeb's involvement came through a partnership between one of his companies and Sam's organization, Ladies of Hope Ministries.<ref name="nola">NOLA.com, "Activist Topeka K. Sam, pardoned by Trump, visits New Orleans home for ex-incarcerated women," April 2021, https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/activist-topeka-k-sam-pardoned-by-trump-visits-new-orleans-home-for-ex-incarcerated-women/article_c7848876-9be0-11eb-a0c6-9f7b559e0a2d.html</ref>
 
== Later Developments ==
 
=== Google Social Impact Award ===
 
On May 5, 2022, Sam was honored with Google's inaugural Social Impact Award for her work to reduce rates of incarceration among women. The award included a $100,000 grant.
 
=== Entertainment Industry ===
 
Sam has explored opportunities in television production, inking a deal for content inspired by her fight for female criminal justice reform.


== Frequently Asked Questions ==
== Frequently Asked Questions ==
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{{FAQ
{{FAQ
|question = What did Topeka Sam do?
|question = What did Topeka Sam do?
|answer = Sam pleaded guilty to her role in a drug trafficking conspiracy and was sentenced to over 10 years in federal prison in January 2013. Prior to her arrest, she led a double life as an entrepreneur running an online mobile phone case boutique while selling large quantities of cocaine on the East Coast. She was indicted in 2012 as part of a federal investigation.<ref name="wiki" />
|answer = Sam pleaded guilty in January 2013 to one count of conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine. Federal prosecutors tied her to a drug conspiracy that involved the acquisition of cocaine, including a transaction of 80 kilograms. She had run an online phone-case business while coordinating cocaine transactions on the East Coast.<ref name="wiki" /><ref name="wh" />
}}
 
{{FAQ
|question = How long was Topeka Sam in prison?
|answer = She received a 130-month sentence in 2013. She wrote to the judge, filed an appeal, and completed the Residential Drug Abuse Program. Her sentence was reduced, and she was released from FCI Danbury on May 5, 2015, after serving about three years.<ref name="wiki" /><ref name="wh" />
}}
}}


{{FAQ
{{FAQ
|question = Was Topeka Sam pardoned?
|question = Was Topeka Sam pardoned?
|answer = Yes, President Trump granted Sam a full [[Presidential Clemency and Pardons|pardon]] on December 23, 2020, citing her efforts in criminal justice reform. The pardon was facilitated by businessman Daniel Loeb, whose company had partnered with Sam's organization. Sam had already served her sentence and been released in 2015.<ref name="nola" />
|answer = Yes. President Trump granted her a full pardon on December 23, 2020, citing her criminal justice reform work. She had already served her sentence and been released in 2015.<ref name="wh" />
}}
}}


{{FAQ
{{FAQ
|question = How long was Topeka Sam in prison?
|question = Who is Topeka Sam?
|answer = Sam was sentenced to over 10 years in federal prison in January 2013. She was released from FCI Danbury in 2015, having served approximately three years. After her release, she became a prominent advocate for criminal justice reform and incarcerated women.<ref name="wiki" />
|answer = Sam is a criminal justice reform advocate who founded The Ladies of Hope Ministries in 2017. She helped bring attention to Alice Marie Johnson's clemency case, spoke at a 2018 White House prison reform summit, and joined the board of The Marshall Project. In 2022 she received Google's first Social Impact Award.<ref name="be" /><ref name="variety" />
}}
}}


{{FAQ
{{FAQ
|question = Who is Topeka Sam?
|question = What is The Ladies of Hope Ministries?
|answer = Sam is a criminal justice reform advocate who founded Ladies of Hope Ministries in 2017. She helped bring attention to Alice Marie Johnson's case, leading to Kim Kardashian lobbying Trump for Johnson's clemency. Sam spoke at the White House Prison Reform Summit in 2018 and received Google's inaugural Social Impact Award in 2022.<ref name="be" />
|answer = The Ladies of Hope Ministries is a nonprofit Sam founded in 2017 to help women return home after incarceration. It runs programs in education, housing, and food assistance, including the Angel Food delivery program and Hope House NYC, a transitional residence in the Bronx for women on parole.<ref name="nolan" /><ref name="lohm" />
}}
}}


{{FAQ
{{FAQ
|question = What is Ladies of Hope Ministries?
|question = What was Topeka Sam's role in Alice Marie Johnson's release?
|answer = Ladies of Hope Ministries is a non-profit founded by Sam in 2017 to help women transition after incarceration. It provides education, housing, and grocery resources through programs like Angel Food Delivery. Sam also established Hope House in the Bronx to provide transitional housing for female parolees.<ref name="nolan" />
|answer = Sam produced a video about Johnson, a grandmother serving a life sentence for a first-time nonviolent drug offense. The video reached Kim Kardashian, who lobbied President Trump directly. Trump granted Johnson clemency in 2018 and a full pardon in 2020.<ref name="be" />
}}
}}


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* [[Presidential Clemency and Pardons]]
* [[Presidential Clemency and Pardons]]
* [[FCI Danbury]]
* [[FCI Danbury]]
* [[First Step Act]]
* [[RDAP Program]]
* [[Drug Trafficking]]
* [[Federal Sentencing Guidelines and Offense Enhancements]]


== References ==
== References ==


<references />
<references>
<ref name="wh">{{cite web |title=Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Grants of Clemency |url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-regarding-executive-grants-clemency-122320/ |publisher=The White House |date=2020-12-23 |access-date=2026-06-03}}</ref>
<ref name="wiki">{{cite web |title=Topeka Sam |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topeka_Sam |publisher=Wikipedia |access-date=2026-06-03}}</ref>
<ref name="honey">{{cite web |title=Topeka K. Sam: Hope and Healing Incarcerated Women's Trauma |url=https://honeysucklemag.com/topeka-k-sam-ladies-of-hope-ministries-incarcerated-women/ |publisher=Honeysuckle Magazine |access-date=2026-06-03}}</ref>
<ref name="grio">{{cite news |title=Topeka K. Sam doesn't want Black women left out of the conversation on mass incarceration |url=https://thegrio.com/2019/12/09/topeka-k-sam-doesnt-want-black-women-left-out-of-the-conversation-on-mass-incarceration/ |work=TheGrio |date=2019-12-09 |access-date=2026-06-03}}</ref>
<ref name="be">{{cite news |title=Topeka Sam, the Woman Who Facilitated a Trump Clemency, Talks Power of Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.blackenterprise.com/topeka-sam-trump-johnson-clemency/ |work=Black Enterprise |access-date=2026-06-03}}</ref>
<ref name="nolan">{{cite web |title=Highlighting Women in Criminal Justice Reform: Topeka Sam |url=https://conservativejusticereform.org/highlighting-women-in-criminal-justice-reform-topeka-sam/ |publisher=Nolan Center for Justice |access-date=2026-06-03}}</ref>
<ref name="lohm">{{cite web |title=Founder Dr. Topeka K. Sam |url=https://thelohm.org/about-us/founder |publisher=The Ladies of Hope Ministries |access-date=2026-06-03}}</ref>
<ref name="variety">{{cite news |last=Aguilar |first=Carlos |title=Topeka K. Sam to Receive Google's Inaugural Social Impact Award for Work With Formerly Incarcerated Women |url=https://variety.com/2022/digital/features/google-topeka-sam-incarcerated-women-1235257678/ |work=Variety |date=2022-05-05 |access-date=2026-06-03}}</ref>
<ref name="drsite">{{cite web |title=About Dr. Topeka K. Sam |url=https://www.drtopekaksam.com/about |publisher=Dr. Topeka K. Sam |access-date=2026-06-03}}</ref>
<ref name="nola">{{cite news |title=Activist Topeka K. Sam, pardoned by Trump, visits New Orleans home for ex-incarcerated women |url=https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/activist-topeka-k-sam-pardoned-by-trump-visits-new-orleans-home-for-ex-incarcerated-women/article_c7848876-9be0-11eb-a0c6-9f7b559e0a2d.html |work=NOLA.com |date=2021-04 |access-date=2026-06-03}}</ref>
</references>


{{DEFAULTSORT:Sam, Topeka}}
[[Category:High-Profile_Federal_Offenders]]
[[Category:High-Profile_Federal_Offenders]]
[[Category:Pardoned]]
[[Category:Drug_Offenses]]
[[Category:Drug_Offenses]]
[[Category:Released]]


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{{MetaDescription|Topeka Sam, criminal justice reform advocate, served time for drug trafficking and was pardoned by Trump in December 2020 for her advocacy work.}}

Latest revision as of 13:49, 3 June 2026

Topeka Kimberly Sam
Born:
Long Island, New York
Charges: Conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine
Sentence: 130 months
Facility: FCI Danbury
Status: Released


Topeka Kimberly Sam is an American criminal justice reform advocate and the founder of The Ladies of Hope Ministries, a nonprofit that helps women returning home from incarceration. She pleaded guilty in 2013 to one count of conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine and received a 130-month federal sentence.[1] She served roughly three years and was released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, on May 5, 2015.[2][1]

After her release, Sam built a career around reentry work for women. She started The Ladies of Hope Ministries, opened a transitional house in the Bronx, and pushed for changes to how prisons treat women and mothers. She helped draw national attention to the clemency case of Alice Marie Johnson. She spoke at a White House summit on prison reform in 2018 and joined the board of The Marshall Project, the criminal justice news organization.[3][4]

President Donald Trump granted Sam a full pardon on December 23, 2020. The White House statement called her life "a story of redemption" and credited her advocacy for the First Step Act.[1] In 2022 she received Google's first Social Impact Award, which carried a $100,000 grant, and an honorary doctorate from New York Theological Seminary.[4][5]

Background and Conviction

Sam grew up on Long Island, New York, in a predominantly white neighborhood. Her parents ran businesses. They owned a Carvel ice cream franchise in Brooklyn and later opened a restaurant in Harlem.[6] She has described her childhood as comfortable. "We had every single opportunity," she told one interviewer. "I had the piano lessons, the dance lessons."[3]

She enrolled at Morgan State University, a historically Black university in Baltimore. She has said she chose an HBCU to be around people who shared her background, a contrast to the neighborhood where she was raised.[2]

At Morgan State she began dating a man who sold drugs. She started connecting buyers with sellers. That role grew. By her own account, she watched how easily money moved through the trade and decided she could run it herself.[6] After college she kept at it. She coordinated cocaine transactions on the East Coast while presenting herself as a businesswoman. She ran an online phone-case shop and held a position at a transportation agency. She has called it "a double life."[2]

Federal agents arrested her on April 24, 2012. Prosecutors tied her to a drug conspiracy that involved the acquisition of cocaine, including a transaction of 80 kilograms.[2] The case was charged in the Eastern District of Virginia, a court known for moving cases fast.

On January 11, 2013, Sam pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine.[1] The judge sentenced her to 130 months. The sentence reflected the drug quantities and the federal mandatory minimums that apply to large cocaine conspiracies. She was sent to the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, a low-security prison for women.[6][1]

Incarceration

FCI Danbury has held a number of well-known inmates, among them Martha Stewart. Sam spent about three years there. What she saw shaped the work she would do afterward.

She has described watching women give birth in handcuffs and then lose access to their newborns. She has said sanitary products were rationed so tightly that women made pads from scraps of bedding.[6][3] "I knew I was called to do this work when I was in prison," she later said.[3]

Sam worked to shorten her sentence. She wrote to the judge. She filed an appeal. She completed the Residential Drug Abuse Program, a Bureau of Prisons treatment course that can take up to a year off a sentence for inmates who finish it.[2] Her sentence was reduced. She was released on May 5, 2015, after serving roughly three years of the 130-month term.[2][1]

Advocacy and The Ladies of Hope Ministries

Sam founded The Ladies of Hope Ministries in 2017. The nonprofit helps women rebuild after prison. It works on education, housing, food, and emotional support for women and their families.[7][1]

The organization runs several programs. The Angel Food delivery program addresses food insecurity in families touched by incarceration. By December 2022 it had delivered more than 9,000 bags of groceries.[8] Hope House NYC, in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx, gives women on parole a place to live as they reenter society. Sam set it up with Vanee Sykes, who had also been incarcerated.[8] Other programs help women learn job skills and start their own businesses.[7]

Sam helped bring the case of Alice Marie Johnson into the national conversation. Johnson, a grandmother, was serving a life sentence for a first-time nonviolent drug offense and had been in federal prison for more than two decades. Sam produced a video about Johnson's case. It spread on social media and reached Kim Kardashian, who took the case to the Trump administration and met the president in the Oval Office.[9] Trump granted Johnson clemency in June 2018, and she walked out after 21 years. He pardoned her in 2020.[9]

Sam co-founded the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. Through that group she worked with Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker on the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act, a bill aimed at conditions for women and mothers behind bars.[3] She backed the First Step Act, the federal reform law Trump signed in December 2018. The law cut some mandatory minimums, expanded reentry support, and reworked the good-time credit system.[1]

In 2018 Sam spoke at a White House summit on prison reform. She described the conditions she had seen, including the lack of sanitary products and the separation of mothers from their children.[2] She also joined the board of The Marshall Project, becoming the first formerly incarcerated woman to serve on it.[4]

Recognition

President Trump granted Sam a full pardon on December 23, 2020. The White House statement called her life "a story of redemption" and said she had become "a powerful advocate for criminal justice reform" after completing three years of her sentence. It named her work with The Ladies of Hope Ministries and her support for the First Step Act. The statement listed Alice Johnson and David Safavian among those who backed the pardon.[1]

Reporting later described a separate effort on her behalf. According to NOLA.com, hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb lobbied the White House for Sam's pardon after one of his companies partnered with The Ladies of Hope Ministries.[10]

On May 5, 2022, seven years to the day after her release, Google named Sam the recipient of its first Social Impact Award for her work to reduce incarceration among women. The award included a $100,000 grant.[4] That same month she received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from New York Theological Seminary. She is often referred to as Dr. Topeka K. Sam.[5]

Sam hosted a show on SiriusXM's Urban View channel. She has appeared on programs including The Tamron Hall Show, CNN, MSNBC, and Today, and has been featured in Vogue, Essence, Rolling Stone, Variety, and The New York Times.[5] She sits on the boards of Operation Restoration, Pure Legacee, and the United Justice Coalition.[4]

Frequently Asked Questions


Q: What did Topeka Sam do?

Sam pleaded guilty in January 2013 to one count of conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine. Federal prosecutors tied her to a drug conspiracy that involved the acquisition of cocaine, including a transaction of 80 kilograms. She had run an online phone-case business while coordinating cocaine transactions on the East Coast.[2][1]



Q: How long was Topeka Sam in prison?

She received a 130-month sentence in 2013. She wrote to the judge, filed an appeal, and completed the Residential Drug Abuse Program. Her sentence was reduced, and she was released from FCI Danbury on May 5, 2015, after serving about three years.[2][1]



Q: Was Topeka Sam pardoned?

Yes. President Trump granted her a full pardon on December 23, 2020, citing her criminal justice reform work. She had already served her sentence and been released in 2015.[1]



Q: Who is Topeka Sam?

Sam is a criminal justice reform advocate who founded The Ladies of Hope Ministries in 2017. She helped bring attention to Alice Marie Johnson's clemency case, spoke at a 2018 White House prison reform summit, and joined the board of The Marshall Project. In 2022 she received Google's first Social Impact Award.[9][4]



Q: What is The Ladies of Hope Ministries?

The Ladies of Hope Ministries is a nonprofit Sam founded in 2017 to help women return home after incarceration. It runs programs in education, housing, and food assistance, including the Angel Food delivery program and Hope House NYC, a transitional residence in the Bronx for women on parole.[7][8]



Q: What was Topeka Sam's role in Alice Marie Johnson's release?

Sam produced a video about Johnson, a grandmother serving a life sentence for a first-time nonviolent drug offense. The video reached Kim Kardashian, who lobbied President Trump directly. Trump granted Johnson clemency in 2018 and a full pardon in 2020.[9]


See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 "Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Grants of Clemency". The White House. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 "Topeka Sam". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Topeka K. Sam doesn't want Black women left out of the conversation on mass incarceration".TheGrio.2019-12-09.Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 "Topeka K. Sam to Receive Google's Inaugural Social Impact Award for Work With Formerly Incarcerated Women".Aguilar, Carlos.Variety.2022-05-05.Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "About Dr. Topeka K. Sam". Dr. Topeka K. Sam. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Topeka K. Sam: Hope and Healing Incarcerated Women's Trauma". Honeysuckle Magazine. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Highlighting Women in Criminal Justice Reform: Topeka Sam". Nolan Center for Justice. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Founder Dr. Topeka K. Sam". The Ladies of Hope Ministries. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 "Topeka Sam, the Woman Who Facilitated a Trump Clemency, Talks Power of Entrepreneurship".Black Enterprise.Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  10. ↑ "Activist Topeka K. Sam, pardoned by Trump, visits New Orleans home for ex-incarcerated women".NOLA.com.2021-04.Retrieved 2026-06-03.


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