Roberta Hurtig

Roberta Hurtig is the President and Executive Director of Samaritans, Inc. Roberta grew up in Southern California and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Master of Arts in Communication Theory from California State University, Long Beach. She has a background of successful management in the for-profit world, including 20 years as an executive at Polaroid. She has spent much of her professional career managing service centers in major U.S. corporations and has been a community volunteer for more than 25 years. She joined Samaritans as executive director in 2002. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention, co-chairs the Greater Boston Regional Suicide Prevention Coalition, a member of Samaritans USA, and is an Advisory Board member for the Massachusetts National Violent Death Reporting System.

During her term of leadership of Samaritans, Inc. the organization has successfully expanded its service areas through the merger with Samaritans Suburban West in Framingham. Samaritans has more than doubled the number of its active volunteers, doubled the number of those served and more than doubled the level of community support required to deliver these services. Roberta Hurtig has become a recognized voice in the field of suicide prevention, often quoted in local media on this important public health issue.

A 30 year resident of Massachusetts, Roberta resides in Chelsea, MA during the work week and spends most weekends at her primary residence in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard.