For Samer Aboul Hosn, being a Senior Management Assistant for the Power Enterprise at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is about more than keeping operations running smoothly. It’s about building bridges between people, policies, and purpose. “I like to think of myself as the person helping the Assistant General Manager and our office who serves not just our colleagues, but every ratepayer in the city,” Samer shares. “We handle everything from time-off requests to legal documents to mayoral correspondence, all in the same hour.”

It’s a role that demands adaptability, insight, and trust. What Samer finds most fascinating, though, is the chance to work under Assistant General Manager Barbara Hale, someone with decades of public service experience. “I’ve never worked in government before this, so it’s been invaluable to have a mentor who understands how to navigate the complexities of our work. With my background in environmental policy, I’m constantly connecting the dots between what I studied and how we serve our communities.”

Celebrating Arab American Heritage Month

During Arab American Heritage Month, Samer also reflects on a different kind of service—one rooted in his cultural identity. He was born in California, but his family is part of the Druze religious community from Lebanon. Samer explains that his upbringing helped him understand the richness and diversity within the Arab world. “If I travel 20 minutes in any direction from our town in Lebanon, I’ll find different dialects, different traditions, even food I might not recognize. That’s the beauty of Arab culture—it’s incredibly diverse, even within itself," he shared.

Growing up in Long Beach, Samer was fortunate to experience cultural acceptance early on, but the outside world often told a different story. “After 9/11, the rise in anti-Arab rhetoric was undeniable. We were often portrayed as either terrorists or refugees—rarely anything in between. Arab American Heritage Month is the representation I longed for as a child. It gives us the space to humanize our experiences and reclaim our narrative.”

Supporting One Another

Samer doesn’t take living in the Bay Area for granted. This month especially, he is reminded that not everyone has the same opportunities. And for that, he encourages people to support other communities and make connections. He hopes his story encourages colleagues to learn more. “When you think of the Arab world, you think about war, oil, backward laws and societies, and Dubai. We often get lost by being represented by the fringe parts that others use to control our narrative. I implore everyone to do some quick research to help form a better understanding of us. The Arab world has seen atrocities and hardships due to our natural resources, when in fact our history and cultures are so much deeper and longer than these modern conflicts.”

Education, unity, and awareness is what Samer says is the solution to this issue. He remains hopeful that one day, Arab American Heritage Month will be equal parts reflection and celebration. "Shop in our stores, eat in our restaurants. Introduce your kids to ours. Just having a voice is the beginning of building bridges—and that’s how we grow stronger, together."