Bring It All Together: Sam Mark & Symphonic Alignment

Sam Mark knew she wanted to work in community action, but she needed to find the right direction for her energy. Sam is the founder of Symphonic Alignment, a community action-focused small business that offers a variety of services to participants, from small- business and nonprofit advisory to community building and advocacy. She had the background and resources, but she wanted a clearer sense of direction. 

Sam learned about the Idealist Action Incubator and signed up for a coaching session with Tatiana Bittencourt. She saw results in her work almost immediately. “Tatiana was great,” Sam says, “I really loved the session and the resources she shared after.” She continues, “I could throw things out there and have someone with a little bit more of a background help me play them out. I was exploring different business structures and was able to really talk that through with her.” She adds that Tatiana also helped her feel more confident in the work she was doing: “She really helped me confirm some things as far as direction.” 

The central takeaway from her time with Tatiana was that she could take time to focus on her real passion. She says Tatiana really validated her new outlook: “I really wanted to grow the community aspect of my business, so it was okay to focus on that and wind down or change some of the other things that were more secure or solid.” Sam’s session with Tatiana helped her articulate her top priorities and start reorienting her business around them.

Before founding her business, Sam worked in the finance industry. She became interested in DEI and community action after taking a series of workshops. This led her to launch the Conscious Altruism Movement, another small business focused on community work, which she later brought under the umbrella of Symphonic Alignment, as she expanded her service offerings with business partnerships and consulting. The change for her has been driven by a desire to move away from the more traditionally stable work she does and towards community building. 

She says a big part of it was giving herself “the permission to direct my energy towards community building and clients that were more aligned with that.” She elaborates that the community has already taken on a few different, and surprising, forms: “Since that call [with Tatiana], I started doing weekly coworking sessions with freelancers or folks who are just looking for a community to be productive with other people. I’ve also started a study group for folks who are trying to learn American Sign Language.” Sam shared that this new direction, which she attributes to a “mindset shift,” really encouraged her.  

Asked about the advice she would give to someone looking to get started with a community action, she shared that openness is key: “Logic doesn’t always apply. Sometimes we talk ourselves out of things because it might not logically make sense, or we’re like, ‘Can I really do this?’ So come with an open mind, but also do some preparation work. For me, it was more of a needing permission and a mindset shift that it was ok to transition my business.” 

Sam says that she wants to break down barriers within community spaces. She says, “I try to support a lot of LGBT, BIPOC, neurodivergent, and disabled communities. I love having a focus on diversity and building spaces for us to all gather. I think something that is still occurring within community spaces is a lot of segregation.” With Symphonic Alignment, Sam hopes to bring those groups, and others, together in one harmonious space.

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Want to hear more stories about people making a difference? Meet Gonzalo, a fellow change-maker connecting people in Latin America to work opportunities in the climate sector.