Sam Hancock
- Old People Rock
- Aug 23
- 1 min read
Find a problem. Find someone doing something about it. Connect the two.
Dr. Samuel Lee Hancock has spent his career asking a deceptively simple question:
What is working, why it’s working, and how can we help more people do it?
That question became the foundation of EmeraldPlanet, the environmental, economic, and community-development initiative Sam created and continues to lead.
Through EmeraldPlanet television and its related projects, Sam has spent years identifying people, organizations, technologies, and communities developing practical solutions for sustainable and resilient living. The project has taken him to every corner of the world, documenting what he calls “best practices” in areas ranging from clean water, to economic opportunity, health care, education, and community development.
The scale of that curiosity is remarkable. EmeraldPlanet’s work involves 144 nations, 750 cities, and tens of thousands of communities, bringing researchers, inventors, innovators, community leaders, public servants, and others into the solution.
But for Sam, global change and local service aren't separate ideas.
His longstanding involvement with Rotary reflects the same philosophy that drives EmeraldPlanet: service isn't something you retire from.
Rotary's familiar motto, Service Above Self, is particularly fitting for Sam. He has spent his life building connections—between ideas and people, between communities and resources, and between people who have a problem and people who may already have a solution.
That may be the most interesting thing about Sam Hancock.
He's still looking.
Still asking questions.
Still finding people with better ideas.
And still trying to connect those ideas with the people who need them.