Amanda has been an entrepreneur her whole life, starting with her own IT consulting firm when she was 16 years old. Raised by business-owner parents, Amanda was instilled with the drive and determination to recognize opportunities to do something new or better than the rest of the world, and she carries that same spirit with her now in the professional world.

In 2009, Amanda founded Gong Gong Communications, a full-service marketing and creative firm which specialized in working with small professional service companies and membership non-profits. Gong Gong offered a wide array of services including graphic design, website development, copywriting, marketing strategy, social media and e-mail engagement, audio/visual production, and event planning. In 2015, Gong Gong became a certified Women Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. Starting as a solopreneur, Amanda eventually lead a team of a half-dozen employees and contractors. In October 2016, Amanda decided to go back to her roots as a solo consultant focusing on a select group of clients.

Amanda is a 2006 graduate of The Ohio State University, with degrees in Political Science and International Studies.

She lived in Ghana for almost two years after graduating college. She served as a volunteer coordinator, marketer, and product designer for Global Mamas, a non-profit cooperative of woman business owners which export Fair Trade products around the world. At age 22, Amanda founded a new cooperative for Global Mamas in rural Odumase-Krobo, Ghana, where she oversaw the opening of a new office and volunteer house, designed products, recruited and trained bead makers and jewelry assemblers, and liaised with local government and traditional leaders.

Amanda is a passionate supporter of literacy, international development, and women entrepreneurs. She was on the Board of Trustees of the Friends of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, serving on the executive committee and overseeing the organization’s business ventures, including the Library Store at the Main Library. She is a past board member of the Columbus Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners and a volunteer with the Women’s Small Business Accelerator.

Amanda is a firm believer in living life to its fullest and making personal fulfillment a priority. To that end, she loves sleeping, napping, reading, cooking, baking, and sports. She is madly in love with the State of Ohio but also adores traveling to random, interesting places around the world.