About

Great organizations value sound leadership, management and decision-making. And leaders understand that quality doesn’t just happen! These are truths that Sammie “Sam” Walthour has embraced throughout his thirty-year career as a local government leader, evidenced by a record of achievement executing turnarounds of underperforming public sector and nonprofit agencies. His leadership skills and management acumen have been on display in the various roles that he has had heading county and city departments. Sam is strategic in his approach to integrating services, driving down costs, maximizing technology, and addressing community concerns.

He has substantial county and municipal government experience, including more than 20 years with Miami-Dade County Government, which serves the seventh-most populous county in the United States. Sam began his career in an entry-level position at Community Action Agency and rose through the ranks, holding a number of positions with increasing levels of responsibility, including assistant to the county manager under the leadership of renowned public administrator, Merrett R. Stierheim. In 2003, Sam was promoted from deputy director to director of the Team Metro Department, the County’s agency created to, “bring government closer to the people.” Under his leadership, Team Metro received awards from the Florida Sterling Council, American Society for Quality and the National Association of Counties for, “Greatest Reduction in Cycle Time” and “Greatest Financial Impact” for the automation of its lien collection unit, and the “e-Ticketing Technology Solution” award for transforming the County’s manual code compliance process.

In January of 2025, Sam completed a four-plus-year tenure as director of the Neighborhood and Community Services Department at the City of Delray Beach, Florida. As director, he provided day-to-day administration of the department responsible for delivering a range of public-facing services, including neighborhood code compliance, general maintenance in the tourist-centered downtown district, federal, state and local housing, community and economic development programs, and responsibility of the City’s exclusive franchise agreement (the City’s largest contract) with the vendor providing solid waste collection and recycling services impacting 70,000 residents and 1,200 businesses.

Sam’s leadership in the nonprofit sector includes his role as the 7th International Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer of 111-year-old Phi Beta Sigma, a Washington, D.C.-based fraternity of college and professional men operating youth mentoring (since 1950), education, business and social action programs through more than 600 chapters in the United States and seven countries.

Raised in public housing in Miami, Florida’s Liberty City neighborhood, Sam is a proud graduate of famed Miami Northwestern Senior High. In 2015 he was inducted into the Miami Northwestern Alumni Association Hall of Fame. He holds a master’s degree in public management from St. Thomas University, bachelor’s in psychology from Florida International University and an associate degree from the University of South. His professional development training includes the Driving Government Performance and Innovations in Governance executive education programs at Harvard’s Kennedy School.