Samantha Witman was raised in Providence, Rhode Island. At 16 she spent a year in Israel, an experience she credits with giving her a new view on what it means to be Jewish. After high school she completed a BA at Brandeis University, majoring in Near Eastern Judaic Studies and Islamic Middle Eastern Studies, and earned a Master's degree from Tel Aviv University, studying Middle Eastern History. Upon returning to the US, she moved to Los Angeles and embarked on a three-year teaching post at Sinai Akiba Academy, during which time she earned a second Master's degree, from the Fingerhut School of Education at the American Jewish University. In addition, Samantha studied Arabic at the Lebanese American University, where she also taught a course on Peace and Conflict Resolution.