"I was tired of watching problems go unsolved because no one wanted to touch the ugly parts."
— Val Wimes, Founder
The Sameritan Project was founded in 2023, but activated in 2025 after the LA Fires on a simple observation: the world doesn’t need more analysis of broken systems. It needs people willing to step inside them and build what’s missing. For too long, institutions have responded to crises with reports, committees, and temporary fixes. Data is collected, consultants are brought in, including us in our previous life, but implementation (our favorite part) stalls. Solutions look promising on paper, yet rarely take root in practice.
About
After years of watching brilliant engagements produce reports instead of results, we decided to change that. We stopped advising and started building. The Sameritan Project is an Execution Tank — a nonprofit R&D lab that designs, tests, and refines working models rooted in circular economy principles, economic equity, and community resilience. We go beneath the surface to straighten out the bottlenecks others won't touch. We don’t just identify gaps, we close them. We don’t produce reports, we produce proof.
Proof Over Theory
We don't say it works. We show it works. Every model we build is tested in the real world before we ask anyone to adopt it.
Dignity by Design
Dignity isn't added as an afterthought. It's built into the structure.
Circular by Default
Waste is just a resource in the wrong place. Every system we design starts with the question: what happens to what's left over?
We Value
Community as Infrastructure
Not charity. Not service delivery. Actual systems that communities own, operate, and benefit from
Meet the CEO
Valarie “Val” Wimes is a strategist, humanitarian, and systems thinker. After a decade of advising nonprofits, governments, and mission-driven brands, she stepped away from traditional consulting to focus on what institutions rarely deliver: implementation with integrity. Her frontline work in community engagement, food systems, policy, and resilience planning revealed a clear pattern: the world doesn’t need more analysis. It needs people willing to build working models that communities can actually use. That realization led to the creation of The Sameritan Project.
Valarie believes the future won’t be built by playing it safe. She’s on a mission to create more Good Sameritans — people empowered to solve problems together no matter how ugly or hard with systems that actually work.
Our Board
Cameron McKnight
Ebony Lynk
Maybe you...
We're building a board of people who believe execution beats theory. We're selective and intentional about who joins — but if you think you belong here, we'd love to hear from you.