A Saviour Helping Women in Distress
Dr. Samantha Redd has been a guiding light in the lives of numerous women who have been dealing with trauma, courtrooms, domestic abuse and child custody issues for the last 10 years. She is transforming their lives by radiating good energy and providing them with hope in times of adversities by imbibing them with confidence, clarity and contentment. Her signature mask that she wears while working makes her feel unstoppable as she carries forward her noble efforts.
Her formative years were spent living in a dangerous city where one had to watch out when going out in the streets. However, this situation made her inner strength grow and she adapted to be calm in any situation, trust her instincts and use her skills to help others. She utilised education as a tool to elevate her out of where she lived and soon succeeded in getting her Ph.D. in science with the support of her loving family. That’s why she states that her mother is her role model who has always believed in her even when she didn’t believe in herself.
She feels that her biggest challenge/blessing is walking in her client’s shoes. She has a deep connection and understanding of what her clients go through as she has been through that journey herself. She uses meditation and grounding techniques to not carry forward her client’s issues during the day and allow her to continue the fight for fairness and justice.
Dr. Samantha feels the most challenging barrier in her career is “Being a woman leader in my field! The challenges in my field are that the legal field is mostly run by men and most of my work with my clients is helping them remove their emotions when presenting their cases for court. In the courtroom, a mom that cries too much will sour the judge, which can then cause her to lose her children because she became emotional.”
When it comes to the present organisational culture being supportive of working women, Dr. Samantha acknowledges that some organisations are better for women to work at than others. She feels that women bring significant value to a workplace and they need to have each others back instead of fighting in order to motivate one another. “The more women at the top means, the more we are heard, understood and empowered to change the world for the better.” she says.
The strategy that women can adopt in order to achieve prominent role, Dr Samantha discerns is an access to a good education. When women see other women at the top, it encourages them to try to show the organisation what they have to offer. She observes that her strength is learning and translating what she has learned by helping people. Her weakness is caring too much which she feels is a woman’s natural instinct and can be detrimental to the health sometimes as they take on the world’s problems.
She defines her passion as “My dream and passion are the same for my clients and me. I want to live in a world where the courts treat everyone fairly and just, and mothers have all the tools they need to help keep their children safe from a toxic parent.”
Being a single mother to her daughter means that all the load falls on her including income, time and attention since she manages it all alone. Balancing motherhood with work sometimes is difficult but overall it is very rewarding and joyful. She states “ It is never a sacrifice choosing to spend time with my daughter. When she is at school, I work, when she sleeps, I work, when she is in activities, I work – but when she is finished, I put everything down and choose connecting with her.”
For her weekend also means helping her clients as she spends her time documenting their cases or holding a workshop. Her business hours are not the formal one as her clients have to work and manage their families, so she offers different off hours that helps them to connect with her easily. Her ‘me time’ she states is “I love learning! I read everything, it’s what I do. I also enjoy visual facilitation, so drawing with my daughter is a fun way to connect.”
