Leadership team bios
Dr. Paula Garay, DHSc., MBA, MA Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Paula Garay is the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of the emme coalition. Guided by her Christian faith, she leads with purpose, compassion, and a deep commitment to justice and healing. Under her leadership, emme has grown from a small pilot into a vibrant nonprofit focused on transforming maternal health and wellness for Black and Brown women. Paula works closely with the Board and leadership team to shape strategy, build partnerships, and drive systems change rooted in community voice and equity. She brings lived experience, academic expertise, and generational wisdom to the work of transformation.
Born in Talca, Chile and raised between cultures, Paula is a proud trauma and abuse survivor. Her early life, shaped by migration, resilience, and injustice, sparked a lifelong commitment to creating safe, affirming spaces for women navigating complex health and social systems. As a multilingual leader, she brings a global perspective to deeply local work. Her personal journey of survival and healing continues to fuel her passion for dignity, restoration, and liberation.
Paula holds a Doctor of Health Science degree focused on maternal and child health equity. She is a licensed doula and a fierce advocate for birthing justice, with over a decade of experience in public health, nonprofit leadership, and trauma-informed, culturally responsive care. She is especially passionate about reproductive justice, workforce development, and building sustainable ecosystems of care that reflect the brilliance of the communities they serve.
Outside of emme, Paula is a proud wife and mother of four. Her relationship with God shapes how she leads at home and in the world. That foundation drives her commitment to building something lasting, not just for her own children, but for generations to come.
Samara Clark, MA, LPC-A Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer
Samara Clark is the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of the emme coalition. She began her journey at the inception of the original iteration of the emme coalition as a program, serving as the first community health worker and later as the only Program Coordinator. Samara is responsible for collaborating with the CEO and Board of Directors on optimizing organizational performance, prioritizing philanthropic affairs and community relations. As a newly licensed mental health clinician, Samara brings the skills she has acquired in nearly a decade’s worth of case management and advocacy work to become a more well-rounded provider focused on trauma & wellness informed care.
In previous years, Samara has held a certification as a Sexual Assault Counselor with the Milford Rape Crisis center. Her experience at the Milford Rape Crisis center has magnified her passion for empowering and educating women and girls to not only advocate for themselves but also recognize potentially unsafe situations and toxic relationships. She hopes to continue to empower and educate on the need for maternal health resources in underserved populations for the betterment of health outcomes and overall life trajectory for all community members. Her goal is to create more opportunities for collaborations to uplift the values of the emme coalition within the Greater Bridgeport community and beyond.
Samara holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Forensic Psychology and a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling specializing in Forensic Mental Health from the University of New Haven. In addition to her passion for service within the emme coalition, Samara is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.