Her Story
About AmandaGrace
I began my journey as a young person navigating my own mental health challenges. After losing my cousin Sean to suicide in 2017, I discovered a passion for youth and young adult mental health and wellbeing. Experiencing grief and working through my own mental health journey opened my eyes to how systems can be improved and transformed.
For the past eight and a half years, my work has focused on youth and young adult program development and amplifying their voices—because young people deserve a meaningful say in how programs designed for them operate. I earned an associate’s degree in Behavioral Health & Human Services from the Community College of Philadelphia in 2020 and shortly thereafter became a certified peer specialist working with youth. Today, I am recognized as a national content expert in youth and young adult peer support and authentic engagement.
Outside of my professional work, I enjoy gardening and engaging with legislators on public policy issues that impact youth and mental health.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with AmandaGrace
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a combination of intentional effort, the lessons of my lived experiences, and staying true to my values. I’ve been shaped not only by the challenges I’ve faced but also by the incredible people around me who refused to let me give up on myself. Their belief, guidance, and support have fueled my resilience, helping me turn obstacles into opportunities for growth. At the heart of it, I focus on creating meaningful impact, using everything I’ve learned to lift others up as I continue to move forward
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is that lived experience holds weight just as much as formal education, because lived experience is something that formal education, like in a classroom, cannot replicate.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
They belong in every room that they want to be in, and just because they don't see people that look like them doesn't mean they don't belong there. It honestly might mean that they belong there even more, and that their voices matter even more in those conversations.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think some of the biggest challenges is adults thinking they know what is best for youth, when the best people for those answers are the youth themselves. They know themselves better than anyone else. I would say that the biggest opportunity would be partnering with youth in those decision-making, and not in a tokenistic kind of way, but in an equal partnership.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Compassion, honesty and ethics.
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