The Connecticut Oral Health Initiative, Inc. 

Newly recruited to lead our fundraising efforts to support the mission of advancing oral health equity in Connecticut. I take a relational approach to development, building genuine connections with donors, partners, and community members.

Development Manager

Journaling for Growth

Chief Journaling Officer

CT Library Consortium

Community builder for librarians. First to fill the role of Events & Special Projects Manager for statewide membership collaborative serving ~1,000 Connecticut libraries. 

Known for my personal brand of magic - creating spaces where members felt safe to learn and grow, turning nebulous ideas into concrete programs and services, and planning and executing events so fun they didn't feel like work - I helped members of our community feel seen, heard, and valued, and provided opportunities for them to build skills to better serve their communities. 

Known for being an innovative thinker who imagines creative solutions to problems, often anticipating needs before they arose, I instigated moving our Roundtable program virtual in early 2020, teaching members to use Zoom and modeled how to run an effective meeting. (Librarians went on to use what they learned here to put on programs for their own communities.)

I partnered with the Connecticut Storytelling Center to launch a storytelling training workshop series for librarians. I conceptualized and executed three different vendor expo models, all of which were wildly successful. And I established a new Program Directory to connect libraries with performers and workshop providers. 

I led the national Take Your Child to the Library Day initiative, serving as project manager, growing the program in visibility through projects such as the creation of both community-centric and librarian-centric websites, speaking at the Public Library Association Conference in April 2024, and publishing an article in Public Libraries Magazine in Summer 2024. I partnered with EveryLibrary to create Advocacy Training webinar series to build capacity among children's librarians, and established State Ambassador program to build support and visibility nationwide. I partnered with Demco to create a line of promotional products for TYCLD 2025.

Events and Special Projects Manager

Northwest Village School

I was selected as the first certified library media specialist at this therapeutic day school for special education students ages 4-21.  

Tasked with creating our library media program, I transformed a humble bookroom into a vibrant library ecosystem welcoming and accessible to students of all ages and our teachers and support staff. 

I implemented a new library automation software system, replacing the traditional card catalog, revamped our entire collection of materials, assessing gaps for each section and curating age-appropriate resources, and established new collections of both print and digital resources. 

As the designer of library, information and research, and technology skills curricula that I delivered to students, I was part of our teaching team, delivering instruction to students, facilitating professional development for teachers and support staff, and collaborated with teachers on technology integration and co-teaching classes. 

I created safe and welcoming spaces for all of our students, differentiating instruction, employing de-escalation strategies as needed, and building strong relationships with our learners and instructors. 

I had the joy of surprising and delighting students and staff by instituting school literacy events including annual Read Across America celebrations, coordinated external speakers, and introduced graphic novel collection (our most popular and widely circulated school collection).

Library Media Specialist

Avon Free Public Library

As part of our children's services team, I had the amazing privilege of supporting children and families who came to the library.

While on desk, I assisted children and families with navigation of library materials, equipment and resources; provided readers’ advisory services, connecting readers with engaging materials.

I executed original programming for children including reader’s theater workshops, family thank you letter writing, and thematic creative programs connected to the Amazing Castle™ installation. 

I partnered with Teen Librarian on Book Buddies program pairing elementary school students with middle and high school students to foster reading skills.

And I brought my skills from my experience at Northwest Village School to tactfully manage challenging patrons (i.e. high energy and or poor in-library behavior) resulting in reduction of risk behaviors in the library.

Children's Library Specialist

Self-Employed

Family Sabbatical

Ketchum

At Ketchum (formerly Capital Strategies), I worked with associations such as the North Carolina Economic Developers' Association and NC Go! on events (meetings, conferences, legislative days), editing newsletters, and providing member support. I helped develop communications plans for organizations such as Junior League of Raleigh.

Project Coordinator

Journaling is one of the simplest, most beneficial habits you can use to create the life you want to live. 

And yet something is keeping you from it. 

Whether you’re completely new to journaling and don’t know where to start, you’ve journaled some but not found what works for you yet, or you’re a seasoned journaler looking for new ways to infuse your journaling with energy to get the results you want, I can help. 

✍️Why work with me?
If you were going to do it on your own, you would have by now. The information is out there. But you haven’t figured out how to make it work for you yet. And that’s okay. I love getting to help folks just like you create journaling practices that help you reach your goals. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach here. We start with you, what you want to achieve, and find simple, sustainable ways to make it happen. 

✍️How to work together
If you need:
🌱A LITTLE BIT OF SUPPORT, check out my curated journal prompt collections through my Substack newsletter. At just $8/month, you’ll receive a daily journal prompt designed to help you get to know and love yourself a little bit better AND solve the problem of not knowing what to write about. (journalingforgrowth.substack.com)

🍀MORE SUPPORT, we'll work together to create your bespoke journaling practice that aligns with your personal growth journey. It’s all about you and what you need to grow. And it starts with a conversation. (tidycal.com/amandastern/strategy-call)

✨ Beyond Journaling—Event Planning & Community Building
Along with my passion for journaling, I bring years of experience as a community builder, event planner, and facilitator. I thrive on creating spaces where people can show up as their true, authentic selves and have real conversations that spark connection, growth, and impact. Whether it’s a small gathering or a large-scale event, I specialize in curating experiences that foster meaningful connections and create positive change. If your organization or mission-driven nonprofit needs someone to plan and facilitate events or build a thriving community, let's talk about how we can make it happen.

✍️ About Me
I’ve been journaling since I was an angsty teenager, and it's my go-to tool for learning and growth. I've used it to uncover what I truly want, make plans to go after it, hold myself accountable, and celebrate success, all while creating a life I don’t want a vacation from. When I’m not journaling, you can find me with my nose in a book, puttering in my garden, laughing with my family, and trying to decide what to make for dinner again tonight.

Amanda Stern ✍️

Astound Business Solutions 

Sales Director

Stark Leadership Coaching

Executive Leadership Coach

Lumen Technologies

Solution Architech Manager

Verizon Enterprise Solutions

Senior Manager over the Pre-sales Solutions Architects for the West Region, responsible for growing and supporting over $130M yearly revenue. Our team engages and partners with our customers to develop solutions that enhance the business drivers and use technology to connect companies to their customers, delivering high customer satisfaction and best in class services.

Solution Architect Senior Manager

XO Communications

As Sales Engineering Manager for the West Region National and Strategic team, I am responsible for the recruiting, training and development of the team of engineers supporting XO's largest accounts, including the Fortune 500 clients. We use performance based goals to coach and develop the team, while providing ongoing education on complex technologies and products.

Sales Engineering Senior Manager, National West Region

As Sales Engineering Manager, I was responsible for the Pre-Sales Engineers supporting the Direct and Indirect Sales Teams in the Northwest Region, including: San Francisco, Sacramento, Denver, Portland, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Spokane. Recruiting, developing, coaching and assisting Sales Engineers to deliver best in class solutions for highly complex WAN/LAN environments. Involved in the sales cycle from beginning to end, delivering presentations to audiences including C-Level decision makers, discussing customer challenges and developing business solutions to enhance capabilities of client networks and communications. I use performance based goals to coach and develop the team, while providing ongoing education on complex technologies and products.

Sales Engineering Senior Manager

Pre-sales engineer for National and Strategic accounts responsible for the design of complex WAN and voice solutions, including converged services such as MPLS, VPLS. Enterprise SIP, and traditional private line, SONET and wavelength services.. I also leverage managed services utilizing the broad list of IP based products, such as Hosted Security, Hosted PBX and Content Delivery, to form solutions for the customer's voice and data needs. I am involved from pre-sales through implementation, responsible for ensuring the design meets the customer's expectations. I use a consultative sales approach, and continue working with customers to leverage technology to enhance their business flows and drive down expenses.

I have served on the VoIP Subject Matter Expert team since 2009 to assist engineers across the country with complex VoIP solutions, especially Enterprise class SIP trunking.

Senior Sales Engineer

Advanced Communication Solutions

Responsible for running the Service Department for the company, including technical support staff, project managers, network engineers and administrative personnel. Also, I handled all aspects of IT for the organization, maintaining multi-location network and handling technical support group within the organization. Developed and managed Network Services department for company focusing on Wide Area Networks for voice and data applications.

Vice President of Service

Handled all day to day operations of the Service Department, including recruiting, hiring, MBO, customer escalations, dispatching, Tier III technical support and training.

Service Manager

Designed and implemented VoIP systems for Enterprise customers.

Lead Technician

Ameritrend Corporation

Designed and Implemented complex Enterprise class Unified Communication and Contact Center solutions.

Leadership starts from within. As we master our SELF, we become better equipped to not only lead from the front, but also to embrace a higher purpose that focuses the team on a greater good. This unlocks our potential as a leader, and creates a life of abundance.

Some important aspects of my life and career:

*Lifelong learner helping teams drive innovation, leveraging Business Outcome strategies to create new sales opportunities*

*Shaking up the status quo and developing growth mindsets*

*Generating thought provoking digital content related to technology, emotional intelligence and personal experiences*

*In the trenches side-by-side with teams, pushing them to think differently, while always focusing on the clients desired business outcomes* 

*Doing the gritty, detail work, relentlessly practicing, preparing and challenging to drive value for the client*

*Drilling the basics, and tirelessly working to improve*

*Working with the largest technology companies on the planet, delivering value and co-creation where combined outputs drive innovation*

Expertise in Sales. Engineering, Coaching, Development, Performance Management, Business Outcome Sales, Process and Procedure, Subject Matter Expert for VoIP technology, UCC and Cloud Omni-channel Contact Center solutions.

Technology specialties: AR/VR, Autonomous Vehicles (AV) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), Internet of Things, Smart Cities, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), 5G and Private LTE, LAN/WAN Design, Transport: 100G, 10G and 1G, MPLS/VPLS, VoIP Specialist, Network Security, Cloud solutions, Bare Metal, SIP trunking, Ethernet, Transport, Wavelength, Routing and Switching

taplio

The Battle

Amanda Stern ✍️

Tim West

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?