Amanda serves as Chief Operating Officer at Miami Waterkeeper, where she works closely with the organization’s leadership team to guide strategic direction, ensure smooth daily operations, and maximize program impact. She collaborates with team leaders across programs, development, marketing, and finance, to align efforts with Miami Waterkeeper’s mission to protect clean water, safeguard ecosystems, and build community resilience.
Amanda spearheads the Green Infrastructure Accelerator Project (GIAP), a visionary initiative set to generate six to eight innovative green infrastructure design solutions across urban Miami-Dade County. The project aims to revitalize underutilized public spaces, strategically mitigating flooding, safeguarding water quality, combating excessive heat, and improving the environmental health of historically vulnerable communities. Beyond these critical objectives, GIAP also seeks to enhance community resilience and provide several fringe benefits, including the creation of recreational spaces and the preservation of habitats.
With over 20 years of experience in program management and educational technology across both public and private sectors, Amanda previously founded Save Calusa, a local nonprofit that successfully preserved a rare multi-species bird rookery, including nesting imperiled tricolored herons. She has also served as an adjunct professor at Rutgers University and St. John’s University, teaching graduate-level research methodology and educational technology courses.
Amanda holds a Doctorate in Education in Instructional Leadership from St. John’s University, an Executive MBA from Lansbridge University, and a BBA from the University of New Brunswick. Originally from the Maritimes, Canada, Amanda grew up near the highest tides in the world, with a family history tied closely to nature, from farming to fishing the Atlantic coast. This connection to nature has fostered her deep commitment to environmental protection.