The Empire Page

Brian Sampson is the Executive Director of Unshackle Upstate.  In this role, he is responsible for coordinating the coalitions Public Policy agenda and advocating for reform in state government.  He is also responsible for the overall growth of the coalition and engaging our partners and assisting them with policy initiatives.

Prior to joining Unshackle, Brian was with Empire State Development (ESD as Upstate Director for Business Outreach.  Mr. Sampson’s responsibilities at ESD included making sure the agency is in tune and aligned with the needs of upstate businesses.  To ensure the agency met those needs, he worked closely with ESD’s upstate regional offices assisting them in implementing best practices that ensured the state agency was more proactive and efficient.  Additionally, Mr. Sampson focuses on the retention and expansion of existing businesses in New York State.

In June 2008, Mr. Sampson took on the additional role of Acting Regional Director for Western New York.  In this capacity, Mr. Sampson managed operations of ESD’s Buffalo-based Western New York regional office on a day-to-day basis in concert with long term strategic goals.  He was responsible for engaging in problem solving, pro-active planning and management of staff and resources.  The Buffalo office is one of seven ESD regional offices in upstate New York and is accountable for directing activities in five counties: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie and Niagara.
 
Prior to coming to ESD, Mr. Sampson was Vice President of the Builders Exchange of Rochester where he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of a 550-plus membership association dedicated to the building and construction industry.  Mr. Sampson also handled the legislative activities of a 10,000-member coalition working to reform Workers’ Compensation and Labor Law 240/241 and promoted economic development across upstate New York.  He has also worked as the Public Affairs Director and Business Development Director of the Rochester Business Alliance and as Community Based Services Coordinator for Learning Disabilities Association in Rochester.

Mr. Sampson’s community affiliations include Chair of ARC of Monroe County, president of Irondequoit Vikings Youth Football Association, Small Business Council of Rochester board member and Compeer Volunteer. 

A resident of Rochester, Mr. Sampson was a graduate of Michigan State University with a bachelor of arts in Psychology and a minor in Communication.  He is also a 2001 graduate of Leadership Rochester and recipient of the 2008 40 Under 40 award.