Inside the Office of Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.): Samantha Sher

Samantha Sher 

Title: Legislative correspondent

{mosads}Age: 24

Hometown: New Orleans

Education: B.A. at the University of Pennsylvania in political science with minors in classical studies and urban studies

Last job: Account manager at DCI Group

Phone etiquette philosophy: Turn up the Southern charm. My mother always taught me that you get more flies with honey! If you ask how they’re doing, they’re less likely to attack you. When all else fails, just smile and say, “Yes, ma’am.”

Most bizarre incoming call: Let’s just say that folks from Louisiana are known for their eccentricities … and it takes a lot for me to be shocked.

Professional Role Model: My dad.

Most embarrassing moment on Capitol Hill: Too many to name — being the new kid on the Hill, I’ve been known to be caught wandering lost in the basement, chatting up congressmen in the elevator or being rendered speechless at some of our celebrity visitors.

Interests outside of work:  Traveling as much as possible and everything New Orleans, especially the Saints and my family.

Samantha Sher first set her sights on Capitol Hill when she was 6 years old.

 During a family vacation, Sher said, “We were the crazy constituents that you see on the Hill. We just showed up, excited to meet [our] congressman.”

Yet 18 years later, Sher is just as thrilled to be spending time in the Capitol.

Arriving at the University of Pennsylvania for her freshman year in 2005 just days after Hurricane Katrina, Sher became interested in government when a professor explained “how the government had failed us for 9/11, and he just related [that same idea] to Hurricane Katrina,” she said.

“With just that tie, I got interested in coming to the Hill,” first as an intern and now as a staffer.

After graduating, Sher moved to Washington to work at a government-affairs firm, mainly in telecommunication issues.

Though Sher joked about taking “a little bit of a pay cut” when switching sectors, she “feel[s] really connected to the city and the issues” of New Orleans now. 

 An avid traveler, Sher added that she loves “leav[ing] at the end of the day on Fridays, and com[ing] back late on Sundays” in order to travel.

Though Sher has not ruled out the prospect of living abroad, she said, the greatest downside of moving would be that “it would be really hard to work on the Hill if I were living abroad.” 

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