Samaden Federico

Federico Samaden was born in 1957 in Milan, where he first attended the G. Berchet classical grammar school and then studied at Bocconi University, in the Faculty of Banking and Economics; he subsequently graduated from the University of Siena with a degree in Economics and Banking.

In 1989, together with Vincenzo Muccioli, he founded the Trentino branch of San Patrignano, a major rehabilitation community for young people struggling with drug addiction, and managed it as director until 2007, becoming one of Italy’s most experienced figures in this field. His long and intense experience working alongside hundreds of young people honed his educational and interpersonal skills, and his role in managing training activities enabled him to progressively acquire ever greater managerial expertise. From 2008 to 2012, he was also a member of the expert advisory board of the Department of Anti-Drug Policies at the Prime Minister’s Office.

Since 2009, he has been the director of the vocational training institute for the hospitality industry in the Autonomous Province of Trento, where he oversees two main campuses, four branches and around 800 students aged between 14 and 18. In 2011, he founded the social cooperative ‘Lievito Madre’, which runs a pizzeria that helps disadvantaged individuals enter the world of work, and in 2017 he completed a master’s degree in ‘social innovation’ at TSM in Trento.
In 2019, he was appointed by the provincial council as an expert on youth policies, with a remit to promote innovative tools for young people’s development. Since 1 January 2021, he has been president of the Demarchi Foundation (TN), which focuses on social research and new welfare models.

In 2018, he published the book Fotogrammi stupefacenti, storia di una rivincita, in which he recounts his own story and what he has witnessed in Italy over the last 40 years in the field of drugs. He currently lives in Trentino with his wife Beatrice and their children Ruggero and Melissa.