We’re excited to welcome Amanda to MDLF! Amanda is the Foundation Manager at Vectren, A CenterPoint Energy Company, and lives in Evansville.

About Amanda:

Hello! I’m Amanda Schmitt and am part of the Foundation and Community Relations team at Vectren, A CenterPoint Energy company where I am so thankful to have my dream job. I spend my days working with some of the most amazing non-profits across the state and am proud to be able to partner with so many of them on the excellent work they are doing. I love seeing the creative and innovative ways our state is working together to help all our residents not just survive but thrive. Outside of working my dream job, my husband and I live on a few acres and along with our two active boys are tackling farm life. We planted a garden this year and if you ask the boys in our house, we will have goats, chickens, and pigs before too long. I have picked up sewing as a hobby and love to read (although these days, it's mostly audiobooks since sitting down is a luxury with a 2 and 4-year-old at home). I love to travel, try new things, and am constantly up for a new adventure. I made my husband promise me even as we settled in Southern Indiana, we would still get stamps on our passports occasionally.

What's your vision for Indiana? How does this relate to your decision to join the program?

Almost daily, I get a front-row seat to both the beauty and the broken in our amazing state. I want to see Indiana continue to flourish and a large part of flourishing is ensuring all citizens have a voice, can be heard, and can thrive. From our youngest to our oldest, our state will grow when opportunity is available to everyone and when we all better understand the unique challenges seen across our state. I wanted to be part of MDLF to learn both from and with individuals who represent different backgrounds, industries, and geographic regions within Indiana. We are stronger together and when we take an entire state view, I believe we can continue to be a state where people want to live, work, play, and retire-where its residents are proud and where talent and opportunity are homegrown and available to everyone.

What's your favorite quote?

“Be in love with your life. Every minute of it.” - Jack Kerouac

What's something you're reading now?

Free Cyntoia, by Cyntoia Brown-Long and The Enlightened Capitalists, by James O'Toole

Check out our blog to see more about our newest class of Fellows.