TRADITIONAL BIO

Amanda joins Thought Ensemble with 20 years of problem-solving experience across consulting and industry roles. She has always appreciated the connection between what people need to do their jobs effectively and the ways organizations can provide support. That’s why she enjoys helping companies define and design future-state programs and structures, as well as helping to manage the employee changes through every phase of the journey. Her projects focus on organizational alignment, process redesign, performance management, culture and team dynamics, learning and development, and change management.

Amanda has worked in multiple consulting firms with clients across industries, notably manufacturing, aerospace, telecommunications, retail, oil field services, and quick service restaurants. She also worked in human resources at PepsiCo and Lennox International, focusing on internal organizational development through employee engagement, performance management, competency-based learning, and career and leadership development.

Amanda graduated from Baylor University with a BBA in Marketing and Public Relations. She is also certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a Microsoft Service Adoption Specialist.

In addition to spending time with her family, Amanda enjoys volunteering, live music, wine trips, and bargain-hunting.

Introversion, Intuition, Feeling, Judging (INFJ)

THOUGHTFUL BIO

I’m in this for the people. Solving problems and seeing results are both deeply satisfying, but they are both just means to an end: getting to know people and helping them succeed. Throughout my school years, I always enjoyed being part of a team — soccer, dance, band, Texas Future Problem Solvers (if you know, you know) — and wanted the same camaraderie from my career. As a somewhat-reserved person, working in a team has been the best way for me to get to know others and have them get to know me.

I’m grateful for a Consumer Behavior course at Baylor University that ultimately changed my trajectory. The course piqued my fascination — why do people want what they want? What is the science connecting internal motivation to external behavior? I was hooked enough to change my major from Biomedical Engineering to Marketing. Without that change, I’m fairly certain I wouldn’t have joined Accenture after graduation. Nor would I have had the team-based experiences that introduced me to some of my very best friends and my now-husband.

In addition to the relationship aspect, there is nothing like being part of an “a-ha” moment — that spark when information falls into place and something that previously seemed out-of-reach is now an exciting reality. Growing up, those moments were shared tutoring younger kids or teaching dance; now it’s a whiteboarding or training session with colleagues and/or clients.

It makes sense to me now why I am drawn to both human resources and management consulting. Organizations are collections of individuals, and I truly love setting individuals up for success — removing obstacles and unnecessary steps, developing knowledge, skills, and abilities, creating teams and support structures, and engaging and motivating folks to contribute toward goals — often done while adapting to organizational changes.

And in the process, I enjoy getting to know everyone involved. Yep — I’m definitely in it for the people.

Some of my favorite work challenges include:

Amanda’s Thoughts