There are seasons in life that we understand only after we have lived through them.
When Samantha Barber and her family moved to the Shenandoah Valley, the transition was not easy. She left behind a familiar home, friends, a church family, and a life she understood. What came next was a journey filled with questions, unexpected challenges, and moments that tested her faith in ways she could not have anticipated.
But somewhere along that journey, a purpose began to take shape.
That purpose became bringing Reaching Out Now to the Shenandoah Valley.
What began with a desire to make a difference in the lives of young people has grown into an organization committed to coming alongside youth, families, and communities—creating opportunities for service, empowerment, and leadership.
And today, Reaching Out Now is entering a new chapter.
After years of serving as the organization’s founder and guiding its growth, Samantha Barber has formally stepped into the role of Chief Executive Officer.
This transition is more than a change in title. It represents a new season of purpose, visibility, and possibility.
For years, Samantha’s focus has been on building the foundation—creating programs, developing partnerships, bringing people together, and making sure young people had a place where they could belong, grow, and discover what is possible for their future.
Now, she is ready to step beyond the work of building quietly behind the scenes and carry the mission into new rooms, new relationships, and new opportunities.
Read Samantha’s personal thoughts on this transition on Facebook.
We are no longer hiding.
Reaching Out Now has a story worth sharing, a mission worth championing, and a community worth representing. As CEO, Samantha will continue to lead with the same heart that started this organization while expanding its reach and building relationships with individuals, organizations, businesses, and leaders who believe in investing in the next generation.
And she will not do it alone.
As part of this transition, Reaching Out Now is honored to welcome Dr. Yolanda Barbier Gibson as its new Board Chair.
Dr. Barbier Gibson brings extensive experience in higher education, student success, leadership, community engagement, and organizational development. As Vice President of Student Affairs at Shenandoah University, she leads efforts supporting students both inside and outside the classroom and oversees a broad range of departments dedicated to student success and well-being.
Her experience extends well beyond higher education. She has served in leadership roles with the United Way of the Northern Shenandoah Valley, the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum, the American Council on Education, and other community-focused organizations.
Her commitment to young people, leadership, and community makes her an important addition to this next chapter of Reaching Out Now.
Together with our Board, staff, volunteers, partners, and supporters, Samantha and Dr. Barbier Gibson will help guide Reaching Out Now into its next season—one grounded in the work we have already accomplished and focused on what is still possible.
The next chapter is already beginning.
On September 9, Samantha and her husband Joe, will represent Reaching Out Now as a special guest at the Celebrity Red Carpet Gala during New York Fashion Week, joining community leaders, international ambassadors, business executives, athletes, entertainers, and changemakers from across the country and beyond.
For Samantha, the significance is not the red carpet, it is the opportunity. Every new relationship can become a new door for the young people and families Reaching Out Now serves. Every conversation can create a new partnership. As Samantha says, “Every opportunity to share the mission of Reaching Out Now is an opportunity to open another door for the young people and families we serve.”
That is what this transition represents.
Not recognition for recognition’s sake. Not growth for growth’s sake. But for purpose.
The purpose that brought Reaching Out Now this far. The purpose that has carried us through difficult seasons. And the purpose that now calls us to step forward with greater confidence and greater visibility.
Our path forward is not about leaving behind where we came from. It is about honoring it by becoming everything Reaching Out Now was created to be.
The next chapter is here.
And this time, we are stepping into it without hiding.