Samad graduated from American University in Washington D.C., where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and International Affairs in 1991.

[1][2] He received a Master's degree in International Relations (GMAP) from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts in 2006.

[1][2] Samad worked in the IT private sector field in the US between 1981 and 2001 with corporations such as Datacrown Inc, Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).

[1] In 1996, he launched Azadi Afghan Radio and its website as part of the Afghanistan Information Center, based in Virginia.

[2] before being appointed as Senior Advisor to the Chief Executive of Afghanistan in the National Unity Government formed after elections in 2014.