Alumni Profile: Brakeyshia Samms, Persuasive Writing Credential '24

With over ten years of policy experience, Brakeyshia Samms has dedicated herself to addressing tax policies that disproportionately affect people of color. “I want to move toward a society where everyone gets their fair share—by investing in public services and programs—to right the wrong of the prejudice people of color have been subjected to in budget and tax policy.”

Early in Samms’s career, she encountered a challenge that shifted her approach to policy writing. “In my first job after grad school, I had to write an op-ed focused on the impact of fiscal policies on millennials in the state of Texas. And I was confident in my writing, but my draft came back blood red with edits. I had written in a technical and academic manner that wasn’t digestible (or understandable) for the general public—it wasn’t persuasive. That experience was humbling and taught me about the importance of thinking about who your audience is and how to use words precisely so as not to confuse or discourage people.”

Samms’s subsequent professional roles—including her current role at The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)—have highlighted the importance of bridging the gap between policy research and successful communication. “It’s best to invest in a foundation of solid research skills, data analysis, and communication,” said Samms.

Seeking to build on this realization, Samms enrolled in the Persuasive Writing Credential (PWC) program at The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. “The program appealed to me because I knew about Harris’s rigor, and the program length was perfect: long enough to do a project and get feedback. Essentially, I knew I would get outstanding writing strategies and tools to bring back to my job.”

Samms found several elements of PWC particularly impactful. “Writing and getting feedback was important, but the writing tools we learned stay with you, which is what the PWC focused on. For example, one of the final projects was creating a personal style guide. Now, I have something tangible to use in perpetuity for anything I’m writing about. The audience analysis component was also invaluable, because I struggled with that throughout my career. Thinking strategically about what information to extract and how to write pieces for different audiences showed me how to be intentional. It was challenging, because I hadn’t done anything like that before, but having access to the program director, David Chrisinger, was one of the program’s biggest benefits: I learned a lot from him. He’s such a good writer and thoughtful professor. He always answered, “It depends,” because everything is situational. PWC provided solid tools for me to think critically about my writing.”

Today, Samms regularly applies her PWC-acquired skills in her work on tax policy issues. “With some recent reports, I’ve used my PWC knowledge to brainstorm topics and reference my personal style guide. Plus, I also use reader analysis techniques we learned. Basically, at almost any point in a project I use a PWC tool, and that has helped me organize my thoughts and present my ideas better."

And presenting ideas better, Samms said, is integral to effective policy. “Public policy, to me, is a way for us to enact equity to ensure people can thrive in today’s economy. Utilizing different writing frameworks can make you a stronger policy advocate since not everyone thinks like you, and at the end of the day, what counts is making a difference in our communities.”