Meet our Operations Coordinator, Amy!

What has your past experience taught you that applies in your work with Girls Leading Girls?

I met Coach Bre in 2009 while serving as Peace Corps Volunteers in Vanuatu, a small country of islands in the South Pacific. The girls of our island, Paama were discouraged and fearful of playing soccer with the boys so Bre and I made it our mission to empower the girls to play. Bre went on to form a girls soccer team in her village and even traveled to another island for a tournament and brought home the 1st place trophy. From these experiences, Girls Leading Girls was born.

What are the top 3 things soccer and sports have given you?

1) Leadership/Confidence - As soccer goalie and playing with a young, inexperienced team, the ball was always being shot at me which meant a lot of playing time. It taught me to be vocal and encouraging to teammates. This is where I found my confidence.

2) Teamwork/Collaboration - A team working together and listening to each other helps build relationships that will result in progress and learning. Sports gave me the experience to better understand the dynamics of individuals and how to adapt and be flexible.

3) Accountability - I had to do my part in order to help the team as a whole succeed. I learned to take responsibility for my actions.

What do you want to do in order to make the world better?

As a small business consultant and Operations Coordinator for Girls Leading Girls, I have a passion to mentor and develop women business owners and leaders. There is more than a 2 to 1 ratio of men versus women who own businesses. I would love to see that gap become smaller and for more girls to be empowered to become business and community leaders.

How will you use your new role at Girls Leading Girls to further our mission and make an impact?

While I don’t coach or meet face to face often with the Girls Leading Girls community, a non-profit, like any other business, has many tasks behind the scenes to keep it running smoothly. My love of spreadsheets and to-do lists arms me with the skills to make sure we follow guidelines, keep to budget, and set a standard for our operations.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?

Always keep learning.

Where are you from?

I was born and raised in North Carolina where I work remotely for Girls Leading Girls. As Operations Coordinator, I am able to manage HR, bookkeeping, registration, customer service and accounting virtually, thanks to technology! I lived in Chicago while in graduate school prior to the Peace Corps and now live in the same small town where I grew up.

What kind of experience do you have in soccer? In GLG? In leadership?

I was goalie in High School, captain Senior Year and continue to play recreationally. As an only child, I always felt I had to be bold in order to make friends and this helped me to be involved with school government and clubs in leadership roles.   

Being a part of GLG since its inception has been incredible to experience. I am tremendously proud of what Bre has built, the team she has put together and the impact the organization has made for girls and the community. 

What other degrees or careers are/have you pursued passionately?

I have a Business degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and an MBA from the University of Chicago-Illinois. I have always loved developing ideas, starting from scratch to build a business, organization, or simply an event or project. This doesn’t mean that every idea is successful so even with the setbacks or challenges, I am always learning.