Samantha Booth

Samantha found her sweet spot in behavioural science – an applied area of human-focused research that is both analytical and creative, as well as focused on solving important problems.

She has had an unusual career path. Having worked as an investment banker in London, a civil servant in Tanzania, and a development consultant in South Africa and the UK, she then decided to revisit her earlier interest in psychology and apply behavioural thinking to her work. She was fortunate enough to spend two years working at the UK’s Behavioural Insights Team, learning from thinkers at the forefront of applied behavioural work, while contributing to solutions aimed at improving government services, improving education and reducing gender inequality.

She has advised a diverse range of clients from large multilaterals like the World Bank, IFC, and the UN, to bilateral donors and foundations, as well as a number of large banks and several governments. She has worked in several countries on the African continent (South Africa, Tanzania, Nigeria, Zambia, and Ghana), in Western and Eastern Europe (UK and Romania) and in Central Asia (Kazakhstan).

Samantha has a MA in Development Management from the London School of Economics.