Meet Amanda Schneider | Executive Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amanda Schneider and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
The idea for Amplify Voices came out of a conversation between the founder, Deb Shapiro, and a close friend of hers. In 2016, Deb had created a business called DEBx. She worked with entrepreneurs who wanted to dip their toe in the speaking industry. Using her past experience of coaching top speaker professionals, she created a 90-day program where she helped participants mine through the lessons they learned through their life to come up with a powerful lesson to share with the audience. Her question always was: if you had 8 minutes to change the world, what would you say?

Covid hit and it caused her to take a break as she was doing in-person stage events. During this break, she was having a conversation with a friend who had recently retired and considering what to do next. She knew her friend had been kidnapped and trafficked when she was 14 so she offered to help her write a talk to share her story. Her friend threw her hands up in the air and said she could never talk about it, even 50 years after it happened. Deb believes every voice should be heard and was upset that one of her closest friend’s voice had been silenced. That sparked the idea for Amplify Voices. She considered, “What if I could take the tools and program that I have used for DEBx, gather a group of women who were survivors of trafficking and sexual assault and help them find their voice? That was the idea behind the Amplify Voices.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I never thought I would end up in the nonprofit space and it has certainly been a winding journey to get here! I started in telecommunications when I was 20. After 6 years in the corporate space, I tired of the politics and decided to go back to school to get my Masters in Education to become a public school teacher. While this move did not get me out of politics by any means, I did appreciate knowing my efforts were benefiting children every day. After 4 years of teaching middle school and high school, I was fortunate to be able to stay home for a while after having my first son. During that time, I discovered network marketing which led me into entrepreneurship and coaching. I became a certified sales and communications trainer and was in the process of tweaking my business to serve families when I became a participant in Amplify Voices’ first program for survivors of trafficking and sexual assault. At the end of the 90-day program, I witnessed several things. First was the transformation within myself and the six other women who went through the program with me. I also observed the impact our words had on the audience. Through working with Deb over the three months, I had a chance to know and see her heart and character and I felt spiritually aligned with Amplify’s larger mission. I knew I wanted to stay involved with Amplify after my program ended. So I told Deb she was stuck with me, I wasn’t going anywhere and after volunteering for a few months I stepped into the role as Executive Director. While the nonprofit space is extremely challenging, I get to work every day doing something I am extremely passionate about and that makes the challenge worth it. The biggest lesson I have learned along the way is the need to stay in alignment with my integrity and values. Once my work falls out of alignment with those, I know I need to find something else. Life is too short to spend your time working against what you truly value inside.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
For this middle-aged soccer Mom of three boys who are 14, 12 and 10, I suppose listing off my favorite soccer fields would not be very interesting as an answer to this question! Jokes aside, my favorite places and things to do involve places with a mellow atmosphere and access to nature, as well as supporting my local community. For favorite restaurants – I love the food and patio at Postinos in south Tempe. Rigatony’s is a family favorite – my husband has been going there since he was 11 years old and when I moved down to Arizona in 2001, I started going there too. I enjoy catching a movie at the Majestic Theater on Baseline. For getting out in nature, a walk through the Desert Botanical Gardens or Boyce Thompson Arboretum or a hike out at First Water by the Superstition Mountains are my favorite spots. I do love the atmosphere at breweries to bring me back to my Colorado roots – AZ Wilderness is one of our favorites.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Oh my goodness, there are too many to name. If I can choose three, the top of the list would be my husband of 20 years, Paul. He has been my biggest champion and supporter in everything I have done. I also credit Deb Shapiro, the founder of Amplify Voices, for seeing my heart and potential and trusting in me as I stepped in the role of Executive Director for Amplify Voices, after being one of its first participants. Beyond that, I would also have to give credit to Brene Brown and her work with vulnerability. Choosing to be courageously vulnerable over and over in my life has gotten me to where I am today.

Website: https://amplifyvoices.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amplify__voices/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-schneider-545550178/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amplifyingvoices

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRtPwu1_geby0zA5-nrkfpQ

Other: Interview on Sonoran Living: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIsOZjTNkAY&t=1s

Image Credits
Headshot – Karianne Munstedt Additional photos – Elaine Kessler Photography