Lecturer III, Program in the Environment
About
PhD Candidate in Spatial Planning, Wageningen University, Netherlands (expected 2026); MS in Environmental Behavior, UMich, SNRE (2005); Founder/Executive Director of Growing Hope for 14 years until 2017; 2014-2018 Mayor of Ypsilanti; Principal consultant/owner of Beehive Strategies since 2005; SEAS External Advisory Board member since 2018.
Amanda has strong administrative and leadership experience with 20 years of wide-ranging food systems professional experience She was the founder/director of the urban agriculture non-profit Growing Hope for 14 years, building it from a volunteer initiative to a staff of 20 with a $900K annual budget. She has also had numerous food systems consulting contracts and is a member of numerous boards and networks. These experiences helped her build extensive food systems partnerships, particularly in Michigan, but also nationally and in Europe. She completed her Master’s with SNRE (now SEAS) in 2005, and has served on the SEAS External Advisory Board since 2018.
