It was the 40th anniversary celebration of a local nonprofit—tables filling, guests arriving, volunteers weaving through the room as the familiar pre-event hum began to rise. Days earlier, Amanda French had agreed to serve as lead IT support for the breakfast fundraiser. With more than 150 guests expected, the technology had to work. Any glitch with an iPad or Square reader could slow check-in, stall donations, or bottleneck the morning.
While I worked through last-minute logistics, Amanda stepped into her role—syncing devices, troubleshooting card readers, and bringing along a co-worker to help manage the flow. She didn’t hover. She didn’t wait for direction.
She handled what needed to be handled.
Her spark doesn’t scream notice me.
Her leadership isn’t flashy.
But her resilience?
It’s unmistakable.
Rooted in Resourcefulness
Amanda grew up in a small rural Illinois town—a place of cornfields, cows, and families who made do with what they had. As an only child with parents who worked, she learned early how to find her own rhythm when she wasn’t in school.
By nine, she was figuring out how to put simple meals together—not elaborate dishes, just real food she could prepare on her own. Not because anyone told her to, but because it was something she could do and needed to do.
Those early years shaped her instinct to step in rather than step back.
“I saw ways to be involved, and I enjoyed the connections—staying busy, helping where I could,” she reflects.
In middle school and high school, that instinct followed her everywhere. She stayed after class to help teachers, made posters for clubs, attended ballgames, sang in choir, played volleyball, anything that kept her connected to people instead of sitting home alone.
“Volunteering gave me connection,” she says. “And I became the one people could count on. If something needed to get done, I’d do it.”
By fourteen, she was navigating life with a level of independence most kids never touch: finding her own routines, setting her own structure, and carrying responsibility earlier than expected. Her resilience began as resourcefulness:
See a need. Step in. Leave things better than you found them.
“I became the one people could count on. If something needed
to get done, I’d do it.”
A Spark Ignited in Waco
At Baylor University, Amanda’s world widened. She arrived on a full-ride scholarship, the first in her family to attend and graduate from college. For her, college wasn’t modeled or inherited. It was a door she opened herself.
On campus, she was surrounded by students with more resources and advantages than she had, yet she never felt diminished by the contrast.
“I could’ve felt out of place,” she recalls. “But I didn’t. I just showed up as myself.”
Her internship with the Waco Chamber of Commerce placed her at the intersection of two worlds: Baylor’s tech-rich environment and the evolving business community of greater Waco. Though her degree was in Information Systems, the internship was in Marketing an unexpected pairing that revealed how communication, technology, and problem-solving intersect.
A mentor offered a line she never forgot: “Volunteering isn’t just service. It’s opportunity.”
As an ENFJ—encourager, connector, bridge-builder—Amanda thrived. She laughs, “Being an ENFJ basically means if there’s a room full of strangers, I’m leaving with new friends. And probably a volunteer assignment!”
But her motivation was never attention. It was representation. “I don’t need the attention,” she explains. “I want to represent people in the way they’d want to be represented.”
The Caregiver Years
Her first full-time job after Baylor brought her to Oklahoma, a new beginning she created for herself. But at twenty-five, life asked something entirely different of her.
Her mother was diagnosed with cancer.
With limited resources and no nearby family support, her mother moved into Amanda’s home so Amanda could care for her.
“Most people my age were planning weddings or starting families,” she says. “I was learning hospice, doctor visits, medications… everything.”
Their relationship had been complicated through Amanda’s teens and young adulthood. But in those final months, they found peace. Amanda helped her mother check off bucket-list wishes, shared small joys, and walked with her all the way to the end.
“It was hard. But it taught me compassion in a way I hadn’t known before.” The experience didn’t harden her. It deepened her.
A Hard Lesson, A New Direction
A year or two after graduating, Amanda entered corporate IT at a global multinational energy company—an environment where digital tools, communication systems, and technical solutions support thousands of employees across refining, logistics, marketing, and enterprise operations.
It was a demanding environment. And she stepped into it determined to do well.
During an eight-week orientation program, each participant was required to deliver a final one-hour presentation. Amanda prepared diligently. Doing things well mattered to her.
But when her note cards slipped out of order, the presentation unraveled.
“My presentation was scored the lowest. That rocked me. I’ve always taken pride in doing things well.”
Then came the feedback, the moment she now recognizes as a turning point: “You clearly know how to find information. Now focus on how to put it into practice.”
It stung. But it echoed something life had already taught her: everyone deserves a second chance, including yourself.
“Instead of dismissing it, I asked myself, ‘How am I going to apply this next time—and leave things better than I found them?’”
She kept returning to that question.
- Committees.
- Women’s Network.
- Cross-functional teams.
- Clearer communication.
- A broader view.
She wasn’t just learning technology.
She was learning leadership.
Today, she leads a corporate IT team supporting thousands of employees in Bartlesville, Oklahoma at Phillips 66, delivering digital tools, collaboration systems, access management, email platforms, cybersecurity alignment, and the troubleshooting that keeps operations running. “I listen to what people need, translate it into a technical solution, and make sure it actually works,” she explains. “Technology only matters if it helps people.”
“Giving back makes my life more complete.
Serving fills me completely.”
Finding Her Place in Bartlesville
When Amanda lived in Bartlesville the first time, she was single and content staying within her work circle. When she returned years later—now married, with children—she wanted more: insight into schools, churches, hobbies, and the shape of the community itself.
She attended a Bartlesville Young Professionals meeting with a coworker. During the meeting, members openly shared their challenges, including the need for more paid memberships to meet their budget.
Amanda noticed the gap.
And acted.
“I told myself I could find three new members that year.”
She found nineteen.
Her involvement grew quickly, and she helped guide YP from a social gathering into a respected leadership and service organization. The Emerging Leaders Under 40 Gala marked that evolution—celebrating young professionals strengthening the community. “YP helped me understand Bartlesville. Not just professionally, but personally. It connected me with people who helped me learn what the community needed—and how I could offer my support.”
A Season That Could Have Broken Her — but Didn’t
The spring of 2024 rearranged Amanda’s life in a three-month cascade of change.
Late January: the birth of her daughter, Ivy.
Late February: emergency custody of her 11-year-old stepson.
Late March: a tornado destroyed their home three weeks before her return to work from maternity leave.
“There wasn’t time to process,” she reflects. “It quickly became: What do the kids need? Where do we sleep? What has to happen today?”
Instead of easing back into work and the rhythms of a new baby, she and her husband were finding temporary housing, replacing essentials, caring for four children, and rebuilding stability from scratch.
“There were nights when I thought, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to do tomorrow.’ But morning came, and I took the next step.”
Returning to her leadership role, she didn’t pretend everything was fine. “I felt vulnerable,” she admits. “But I knew I was responsible for others.” “I wasn’t 100% every day, and I didn’t pretend to be. Some days were better than others. But I showed up. Every day.”
Rebuilding their home took fourteen months. The strength wasn’t hers alone, it was shared, day by day, with her family.
Learning to Say Yes — Wisely
Today, Amanda’s life is full. Her capacity isn’t endless. But her priorities are clear. “I say yes to what I care about—not everything that’s asked of me. If I can’t help, I find someone who can.”
Her service mirrors her story. Her favorite involvement includes:
Pack the Backpack
Growing up, she didn’t always start the school year with new shoes or a new backpack. She remembers watching other kids arrive with fresh supplies while she carried what she had from the year before.
“It’s not about the stuff,” she explains. “It’s about feeling included.”
Today, the program provides 30% of school supplies for Bartlesville Public Schools, lifting the burden from teachers and helping students begin the year with confidence.
Lighthouse Mission
A place built on second, third, and fourth chances.
“They don’t give up on people. That matters to me.”
Bartlesville Young Professionals
Her favorite bite-size way to serve.
“When a nonprofit needs help, we can step in for an hour or two—without a long-term commitment and still make a real difference.”
What She Hopes Her Kids See
In the middle of ordinary days—school drop-offs, dinner plans, packed calendars—Amanda knows her children are watching. Not what she says, but what she chooses. Where she invests her time. What she follows through on.
She didn’t grow up with a volunteer role model.
She became one.
For her children.
For young professionals.
For anyone stretched thin who still wants to do good.
“Giving back makes my life feel fuller,” she says. “Serving gives me purpose.”
Her message is simple:
Care about something.
Be dependable.
Even one hour matters.
It’s a truth she learned in kitchens, classrooms, boardrooms, hospitals—and in the hardest season of her life.
Resilience isn’t loud.
It’s steady.
It’s built in small choices, made when no one is watching.
And that is exactly how Amanda French lives her Yes!
This Blog contains the full version of Amanda's story. [Download an abbreviated story]
Recent Features:
Sherri Smith (Agape Mission) – July
Samarah Robinson – August
Susan Mueller – September
Sherri Wilt (Bartlesville Chamber President) – October
Ronda Riden-Wilson (RSU Bartlesville) - November
Dr. Keri Bostwick (OKWU) – December
LaJuana Duncan - January 2026 (with an early December 2025 release)
Chef Marjorie Hackler – January 2026
About Amanda French
Amanda French is a corporate IT leader and community volunteer. In her leadership role at a global energy company, she works with teams and end users to deliver digital solutions that support thousands of employees across enterprise operations, translating complex technical needs into practical, usable systems.
Beyond her professional work, Amanda is actively engaged in the Bartlesville community. She serves on nonprofit boards including Lighthouse Mission and Pack the Backpack and participates in Bartlesville Young Professionals. Alongside her husband, she is raising four children while contributing her time and expertise to initiatives that strengthen the community. [Additional resources: PackTheBackPacks; YPBville.
About the Writer
I’m Angie Thompson—a fundraising strategist and storyteller who helps nonprofits, organizations, and purpose-driven individuals communicate with intention and heart. My work blends message development, creative strategy, and community-focused storytelling shaped by award-winning experience in film, television, and philanthropy.
Through Angie Thompson Consulting LLC and my Pivot Pulse™ framework, I support people doing good work—and help them get noticed for it.
Member: Association of Fundraising Professionals; Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits; Society of Lyricists & Composers; ASCAP.
Disclaimer & Copyright
The narrative presented in this story is based on a personal interview and reflection with Amanda French. The views and memories shared are her own and are included with permission. This feature is part of the Women Who Say Yes to the Spark series and is intended to celebrate the subject’s leadership, creativity, and influence.
© 2026 Angie Thompson Consulting LLC. If you wish to republish or excerpt this story, please contact Angie Thompson Consulting for permission.