Arlene Samen

Biography

Arlene Samen, has been a Nurse Practitioner in Maternal Fetal Medicine for over 31 years. In 1997, Arlene met His Holiness the Dali Lama who asked her to take her expertise and help women and children dying in childbirth in Tibet. Since that time, she has dedicated her life to serving pregnant women living in the most vulnerable conditions in the most remote places of the world. As a Rainer Arnhold Fellow through the Mulago Foundation, she learned what made her model successful in decreasing maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity. The model became to be known as the “Network of Safety” which is replicable, sustainable, and scalable in Tibet, Nepal, and Mexico. Today, the “Network of Safety” has reached over half a million people and created a safe environment for over 100,000 deliveries around the globe. She has received many awards, including Unsung Hero of Compassion by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, CNN Hero, Women in Business Award, and the Award for Excellence in Women’s Empowerment by the Global Thinkers Forum It is her dream to take the model to over 35 Districts in Nepal where women face death in order to give life, reaching another 200,000 women.