Have you ever met someone that just has that special Something? That sparkle in their eye and undeniable passion in their voice? Someone who can energize a movement and generate excitement in a crowded room? Someone who can pose the same question to both a group of teenagers and a group of top executives and get them all to jump to their feet, raise their hands and shout "ME! I DO! I WANT TO HELP!"

For anyone who has had the good fortune to meet Peter Samuelson knows, he has that Something. 

Most known for producing “Revenge of the Nerds”, Samuelson’s professional credits are lengthy and impressive, but none as moving as his continued passion to seek out imminent needs in his community and offer innovative solutions.  

An inspiring and motivating prosocial entrepreneur, Samuelson has conceived, founded and run charities that span a diverse set of issues. A true leader and conduit for social change, Samuelson identifies societal problems, collaborates with brilliant minds to come up with new ways to meet the needs, and mobilizes dedicated teams to implement the programs. The true measure of a leader is to enable the masses to champion the cause long after you have left and Samuelson has perfected this model.

In 1982 Samuelson conceived of the Starlight Children’s Foundation, an international charity which provides psycho-social services to seriously ill children. Not long after, in conjunction with Steven Spielberg and General Norman Schwarzkopf, he founded the Starbright Foundation, a charity dedicated to developing media and technology-based programs to educate and empower ill children. In 1999, after witnessing the extreme flaws in the United States foster care system, Samuelson Co-founded First Star Inc., a national charity headquartered in Washington, D.C. that advocates for America’s abused and neglected children.

In 2005, Samuelson became deeply aware of the vast number of homeless in Los Angeles in 2005. Never one to turn a blind eye, especially in his own community, Samuelson founded EDAR (Everyone Deserves A Roof) Inc. to develop and widely distribute a mobile single-user structure which in the daytime serves as a recycling vehicle and at night transforms into a comfortable tented bed.

This past year, in an effort to extend his work combating the forces within the Foster Care system, Samuelson developed a scholastic program aimed directly at Foster teens called the First Star UCLA Bruin Guardian Academy. In partnership with UCLA, the Bruin Academy is a six-week Summer program designed to provide Foster kids a collegiate experience that includes dorm-style living, top-notch speakers, healthy lifestyle education and course-work.  Upon successful completion, each child is credited with four units of collegiate-level education, and a better vision for their future after foster care. In its first year, the Bruin Academy garnered cross-country attention and has a number of other college campuses lined up to join the program.   

Most recently, Samuelson co-founded Splashlife, a social media platform to serve as a resource and advocacy group for the rising generation of 75 million young Americans. To support tomorrow’s leaders, Splashlife offers focused content, membership benefits, opportunities, and tools necessary to improve their lives and the lives of others. Through volunteering, donating, exerting their citizenship, and producing and sharing content, Splashlife isn’t just about improving lives today, it’s about creating a better tomorrow.

Peter Samuelson is the definition of a leader. If you ever have the serendipitous opportunity to meet him, take the time to sit and chat with him a while. You will be fascinated by what the conversation awakens in you. But be prepared to be inspired and driven to action, for after listening to him speak, that is the only possible option. 

"I don't think the world is fair. I believe that there are fundamentals of fairness that ought to be and are not. I believe that every human being has the right to an education. Every child has a right to health care. I believe everyone deserves a roof. I think that these are fundamentals of a civilization without which it's not really a very good civilization. How you treat your innocent, weakest members defines whether your whole damn civilization is worth anything. I don't think the world will ever be fair. All we can do is chip away at it."  ~ Peter Samuelson