"Because of them, I can. And because of me, I will." —Dr. Topeka K. Sam

What happens when freedom stops being a moment of release and becomes a practice?

Dr. Topeka K. Sam arrives at the Highland with an answer shaped by a decade of moving from the freedom from to the freedom to.

Dr. Topeka K. Sam is a trusted consultant and justice reform leader. She is Founder of The Ladies of Hope Ministries (The LOHM) and leads EPIC Financial PBLLC, TKS Ventures LLC, Faces & Voices Inc., and MyFRSH Financial Services, creating therapeutic pathways that address trauma and support justice-impacted individuals.

In this conversation, Topeka calls in her lineage as the daughter of the most high God and the daughter of every Black woman who has led, conquered, cried, laughed, loved, lived, and died before her. Gabrielle mirrors back the shift she has witnessed since 2021: that freedom is a practice, not just a moment, and that Topeka has moved from naming wholeness as a North Star to living it as a non-negotiable, from urgency and survival to true thriving.

Topeka places grace on the altar as her seed. Grace for herself first, learned in her first real rest at the Highland, because Black women so often extend grace to everyone but themselves. She traces the reflection that changed her direction: realizing she was rich in friends, love, and family, but not building financial wealth or anything that could outlive her. She names the narrative that polices Black women's earning in nonprofit spaces and the internal work of releasing it, forgiving herself, and trusting that she can do good and do well.

She also takes us inside The Ladies of Hope Ministries, where women coming home from prison are met with housing, dignity, and an ecosystem of investment rather than a model of fixing. Dena's episode asked what the next generation inherits; Topeka answers with what she builds. She tells the truth about owning her whole story rather than the three and a half years others knew how to applaud, speaks directly to little Topeka, and offers Black women leaders her clearest counsel: move at your pace, trust your gut, and pat yourself on the back.

Together, Gabrielle and Topeka explore why freedom without economic infrastructure is incomplete. Topeka shares what she is building now, businesses, financial pathways, and a fund to seed other Black women, so the next woman does not need ten years to learn what she deserves. She leaves us with the teaching that holds her whole arc: life is about going to the freedom to and not the freedom from.

If Season Two of Meet Me at the Highland™ is an invitation to seed, then Dr. Topeka K. Sam seeds freedom in the hardest, most overlooked ground—the places where dignity has been denied and possibility has been made to feel far away. She reminds us that freedom is not only the absence of chains. It is the presence of choice, worthiness, and the conditions to flourish.

Connect with Dr. Topeka K. Sam
Website: https://drtopekaksam.com
The Ladies of Hope Ministries: https://thelohm.org
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/topekaksam
The LOHM on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelohm

Connect with Meet Me at the Highland™
Full episode and companion content: https://meetmeatthehighland.substack.com/p/dr-topeka-k-sam-not-just-free-from
The Legacy Studio: https://meetmeatthehighland.place
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meetmeatthehighland
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MeetMeatTheHighland

• (00:00) - Black Women Lead
• (01:48) - Welcome Back to Highland
• (03:05) - Who Are You Daughter Of
• (08:18) - Grace and Rest
• (10:49) - Blooming After Loss
• (17:03) - Freedom To Not From
• (23:23) - Legacy Artifacts EPIC
• (26:17) - Building Dignified Systems
• (31:16) - Storytelling New Narratives
• (33:36) - Belonging and Identity
• (36:15) - Owning Your Whole Story
• (40:10) - Questions on Belonging
• (40:52) - Advice to Little Topeka
• (42:33) - Guidance for Nonprofit Leaders
• (45:38) - Future Stories Tease
• (46:16) - Wealth as Freedom
• (48:07) - Building Social Enterprises
• (53:53) - Rest and Joy Practices
• (57:06) - Protecting Peace in Chaos
• (58:43) - Legacy Closing Reflections