Sam Leif earned their Ph.D. from UNLV with a research focus on adult expertise development. They also have a master of library and information science degree from San José State University, and a background in counseling and social work. They are an affiliate researcher with the UNLV Interaction and Media Sciences Lab, studying stealth assessments, expertise development, and algorithmic biases.

Sam returns to UNLV after serving as lead assessment strategist at Western Governors University, where they oversaw assessment design and evaluation for general education. They also helped build Nevada's first statewide judicial professional development program for the Nevada Supreme Court. Sam previously spent nearly a decade at UNLV in leadership roles with summer term and undergraduate admissions.

In their current role, Sam leads the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of clinical evaluation systems for teacher candidates, mentor teachers, and university supervisors.

Preferred pronouns: they/them