I had the privilege of interviewing one of my best friends and the person who I spend the most time with at work: Amanda Fennell, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Students Helping Honduras.

In this episode, Amanda Fennell talks about getting adopted from an orphanage in Colombia, childhood in America, how she dealt with her “ugly duckling” years, the tragic loss that devastated her family, her first (tumultuous) exposure to leadership where she was called “awful”, favorite books, what she REALLY thinks of me as her boss, what was going through her mind during her first trip to Honduras, how she raised $125,000 while in college, why she quit a high-paying “dream job” to help SHH, what it’s really like having a location-independent work arrangement, her newest side-hustle, and more.

As COO of an organization with an annual budget of almost $1 million and network of 5,000+ volunteers, Amanda does it all: answering phone calls & emails, updating our website & social media, coordinating the efforts of 100+ chapters, securing new partnerships, and more.

She was the co-founder of the Students Helping Honduras chapter at Towson University, leading the efforts to raise a record-breaking $125,000 in four years while a student. She also served as Student Director her senior year, organizing the efforts of the then 50+ chapters of the organization nationwide.

Check out her newest side-hustle known as Bear St Collective, a succulent arrangement business!

Show Links for Amanda Fennell

Show Notes for Amanda Fennell

  • Amanda Fennell was adopted from an orphanage in Bogota, Colombia in 1990
  • It was around the time of guerrilla warfare, and the orphanage had bomb nets over them, and military was everywhere
  • Amanda Fennell grew up in New York
  • Amanda wants to adopt one day
  • She wants to visit Colombia, her birthplace, but is unsure of when and the circumstances of her situation, and facing her fears
  • Amanda feels a tremendous amount of gratitude for her situation
  • Amanda’s sister, Lauren, was adopted from the same orphanage four years before Amanda was adopted
  • Lauren was Amanda’s very first friend
  • She doesn’t remember when she found out or realized she was adopted
  • Lauren was killed by a drunk driver when Amanda was a senior in high school
  • Amanda has a tattoo of Lauren’s fingerprint together with her own fingerprint to format a heart shape
  • She was bullied a lot in middle school because she was outcasted as a “church kid”
  • Her “ugly duckling phase” lasted a while, especially since she went into college with braces
  • I use the word antifragile to describe Amanda Fennell
  • She has always been resilient and “overly” optimistic
  • Amanda thrives on stress and a sense of urgency
  • Amanda decided to attend Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland because of their strong nursing program
  • She wanted to be a pediatrician back then
  • Because of the loss of her sister, Amanda almost didn’t attend college
  • Instead of wallowing in sadness, Amanda enrolled at Towson
  • In a strange way, going to college allowed Amanda to “run away” from her trauma
  • She wanted nothing to do with the medical field due to the loss of her sister, so Amanda majored in Family Studies and Community Development
  • She searched for student clubs to join.
  • Joining Invisible Children club was intimidating for Amanda because it was for the “cool” crowd
  • She then joined Circle-K service club
  • She ran for President as a freshman!
  • Amanda met two of her best friends, Kari Adlington and Jessa Coulter, during freshman year
  • The Circle-K initiatives were too small and low-key for Amanda, who wanted to do more
  • Amanda (along with Keri and Jessa) and I met at a Circle-K Convention where I gave a keynote speech
  • Amanda thinks that I am quirky!!! LOL
  • When Amanda wanted her Circle-K club to get involved with SHH, she was labeled “awful” and as the “worst President”
  • Leaving Circle-K to start Students Helping Honduras on campus caused rifts in friendships and personal hate against Amanda
  • Honduras was Amanda’s first trip outside of the US
  • She didn’t realize the SHH service trip would have so much of an educational component to it
  • Amanda met and talked to the families in Villa Soleada when the project had just started
  • SHH introduced Amanda to concepts like the ethics behind development aid
  • She helped build the Villa Soleada Education Center, which was the prototype project that later turned into the Villa Soleada Bilingual School
  • Eduardo “Chilo,” a small boy from the village spoke to the group to thank them for providing the education
  • The Education Center would provide Chilo his first books and computers ever
  • Amanda is careful about over-romanticizing development aid and volunteering
  • “I was so idealistic and naive.”
  • It was difficult to convince the Towson administration to let the chapter go down to Honduras, then considered the most dangerous nation outside of war zones
  • Dr. Santiago Solis helped as a faculty advisor and mentor to Amanda
  • The Towson Chapter raised $13,000 during their first year
  • They then returned to Honduras with 33 student volunteers
  • The following year they raised $30,000
  • During Amanda’s senior year, the chapter raised $53,000
  • In four years, the Towson Chapter had raised about $125,000 for Students Helping Honduras
  • Jessa Coulter was the co-President of the chapter alongside Amanda
  • They didn’t have much of a hierarchy
  • The chapter members became best friends
  • Some members spent more time on SHH than on school work
  • They organized 3-4 events every week
  • Each semester they did one massive event, like a benefit concert
  • Having compassionate, empathetic leadership is key
  • Fundraising was fun despite the sense of urgency
  • A lot of other chapters envied Towson and Amanda’s success
  • Leadership Week has fostered competition while building friendships between SHH chapters
  • Amanda became a community director for March of Dimes after graduation
  • She posted photos from Honduras all over her desk area at March of Dimes
  • Amanda was always interested in international maternal and prenatal health
  • I reached out to Amanda for help, as SHH was under so much stress due to lack of staff members and security threats in Honduras
  • Amanda saved up for a year working at March of Dimes and quit there to work for SHH on a shoestring salary as the Chief Operating Officer (COO)
  • Amanda feels really lonely while working out of her laptop in New York
  • At around 11:30pm one night—I was on the brink of shutting down SHH because of all the turmoil in Honduras and its consequences—I called Amanda to ask her for help and to join SHH
  • Amanda and I consult each other on everything just naturally, going all in together
  • Humility is something Amanda and I value in staff members
  • I needed someone to support me
  • Amanda doesn’t like being placed on a pedestal
  • Amanda is as loyal as it gets
  • At Towson, Amanda had a sense of community and personal success
  • It’s hard for Amanda to not have that sense of community as she works alone in New York
  • Amanda’s boyfriend Chris is supportive of her, always
  • Amanda’s best friends are mostly from SHH, though many of them are far away
  • Amanda is a social butterfly so it’s hard to work alone for her
  • “The work day is never over.”
  • She’s learned to pace herself, delegate, avoid burnout
  • SHH could use some help with grant writing, social media, chapter recruitment
  • People are much more motivated when they can work face to face, instead of remotely and isolated
  • There is no reason to constantly second guessing herself as the COO of SHH with all the trust that I have in Amanda
  • Amanda has to remind herself that there is value in what she does for SHH
  • Amanda and Chris have started a succulent arrangement business on the side, BEAR STREET COLLECTIVE
  • The succulent business allows Amanda to interact with other people, something she missed doing
  • www.bearstcollective.com
  • Jessa Coulter and Amanda Fennell are like the Yin and the Yang together
  • Amanda Fennell drinks a lot of coffee!
  • Amana is a night owl, working late into the night
  • She likes being “zesty” with life : )
  • The person Amanda Fennell was most grateful for that week was her boyfriend Chris
  • They recently visited Denver, Colorado together
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