Comfort Sampong is a master’s student interested in how Black communities globally navigate issues of economic and algorithmic justice. She is a first-generation Ghanaian-American pursuing a master’s in Social Policy with a certificate in Data Analytics at the School of Social Policy and Practice.
Sampong is pursuing a career in technology policy research to explore how people in the Global Majority interact with tech and algorithms to counter discrimination and pursue more just, joyful futures. She was drawn to the SNF Paideia Program because she believes we need robust cross-border dialogue and analysis as these tools impact our access to information, community, and well-being. Her approach to civic engagement is strongly influenced by the Akan value of Sankofa, “returning and retrieving what was left behind.”
Sampong’s current research at Penn includes a project exploring the history and impact of Black women in Latin America and the Caribbean’s informal economies. She also recently co-developed a website exploring the human rights impact of AI in immigration enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border. Other examples of her work include analyses of algorithmic price-fixing in rental housing and a Black Brazilian woman activist’s experiences with disinformation and automated content moderation.
She previously worked in Honduras as a Program Coordinator at the non-governmental organization ASJ, the Association for a More Just Society. There, she worked with an international team to develop research, advocacy, and communications campaigns that responded to violence and corruption with dignity and local justice movements.
Sampong earned a B.A. in Economics and International Development from Calvin University.