I Made That!

Shifting Gears

I am undergoing a big career change! This page will always be here to show off what I’ve already done and to keep track of new skills I gain. I promise it will get much fancier down the line.

Stuff I’m Proud Of

Social & Marketing

Temp logo made in MS Word

• The Brown Girl Tarot Collective, a Facebook-based learning & support community based on my company, Brown Girl Tarot.
• Drafted a new pricing structure and marketing presentation for the Polished Pebbles Girls Mentoring Program Train-the-Trainer pilot expansion (2016, confidential).
• Created an Online Youth Resource Portal (2012) for alumni of the UCAN Host Homes Program in Chicago, IL.
• Created a Social Media Plan (2011) for Facilitating Leadership in Youth (FLY), Washington, DC. (Note: this was an internal document, so there is no branding, etc.)

Event Planning

• Helped organize Expression Live! 2009 & 2010 benefit concerts.
  • Managed Twitter updates (#eldc09 & #eldc10)
  • Assisted with booking visual and performing artists
  • Helped secure corporate sponsorships
  • Coordinated the “green room” during the concert
• Organized a Three-day College Tour (xls) (2008) of Philadelphia-area colleges and universities for students in the Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers (MMYC) Upward Bound, Silver Spring, MD.
• College Shenanigans (aka Ancient History)
  • Vice President (2003-2004); Director (2002-2003), New Spirit of Penn Gospel Choir.
    • Selected & taught songs to expand the choir repertoire, led choir during rehearsals/special appearances, & planned concerts.
  • Programming Intern to Stephanie Renée at Creator’s Child Productions/Soul Sanctuary, Inc. (2000-2001).
    • Helped coordinate artist schedules, conducted archival research for stage production, Rescue the Lyric.
  • Student Coordinator at The Foundation Community Arts Initiative (1999-2002)
    • Helped plan weekly arts events, as well as Love Fest, an annual Valentine’s Day concert

Curriculum, Programming, & Community

I made this in Google Docs

• Designed the College Edition pilot expansion curriculum for the Polished Pebbles Girls Mentoring Program.
• Collaborated with fellow grad students to create a mock community organizing campaign, NO BAR$: Neighbors Organized for Bond Adjustment and Reduction Strategy (2014) for SSAD 481: Community Organizing, University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.

Administrative Systems

• Designed a system to increase efficiency of bulk mailings for Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI) (2012, confidential).
• Drafted a strategic planning proposal & guidelines to develop a fundraising plan for Consumer Action Network (CAN-DC) (2011, confidential).
• Internship Opportunities Booklet (pdf) (2010). Drafted as an emergency staffing plan for Facilitating Leadership in Youth (FLY), Washington, DC.
  • Note: I fully own that this was an exploitative staffing “plan.” I did not know this then and un(der)paid internships were my model at the time.

Research & Evaluation

• Reanalyzed data from the Polished Pebbles Girls Mentoring Program 2015 evaluation, wrote a new report, & jumpstarted a new evaluation plan (2016, confidential).
• Created a handout with tips on conducting better literature reviews (2016).
• UChicago 125th Departmental Histories Project. (2015). Researched the legacy of the Department of Ecology & Evolution through in-depth interviews and archival data. Products:
  • On Uncovering the Legacy of Ecology & Evolution at the University of Chicago
  • Faculty History (xlsx)
  • List of Publications about UChicago Ecology & Evolution (xlsx)
• From the streets to stability: A Study of youth homelessness in the District of Columbia (pdf) (2011). Assisted in the development, implementation, and analysis of DC’s first survey of youth experiencing homelessness with DC Alliance of Youth Advocates in Washington, DC.
• Designed an evaluation plan for the Consumer Action Network (CAN-DC)‘s Consumer Service Team program (2011, confidential).
• Conducted a Volunteer Improvement Program Needs Assessment (2010, confidential) for Covenant House Washington, Washington, DC.

Race & Pedagogy Workshop Highlights

• June 2016: Workshop on Racially Inclusive Syllabus & Course Design. University of Chicago Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture, Chicago, IL.

• December 2015 – April 2016: Three-part series: Race, Teaching, and Scholarship & Positionality as a Teaching Tool Parts I & II. University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration Doctoral Teaching Workshop, Chicago, IL.
• February 2016: What’s Going On? Finding a Shared Language for Transformation on Chicago’s South Side. University of Chicago Arts Incubator, Chicago, IL.
• February 2016: Teaching and Encountering Race in the Classroom. UChicago Teach-in on Racism and Activism, Chicago, IL.

• December 2015: Talking about “Race Talk”: A Discussion of Derald Wing Sue’s “Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence“. University of Chicago Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture, Chicago, IL.

Media Appearances

• Rose Red and Arwen, J. (May 2018). Interview with Amanda Michelle Jones of Brown Girl Tarot. Tarot Visions Podcast.
• Coughlin, S. (June 2017). Why Representation In The Spiritual Community Matters. Refinery29.com
• Thompson, V. (March 2017). To Be Disabled and a Social Worker: Belonging to Two Different Worlds. Rochester, NY: Center for Disability Rights.
• Butler, M. (December 2015). Access to Health Information: It Takes a Village. Journal of AHIMA. Chicago: American Health Information Management Association.
• Sekoff, R and Lewis, G. (Co-Creators). (December 2014). I’m A Black Woman… People Assume I’m A Prostitute. HuffPost Live with Marc Lamont Hill. New York: Huffington Post.

Conference Presentation, Workshop, & Guest Lecture Highlights

• March 2017. Introducing: The Op-Ed, parts 1 & 2. Guest lecture series in UEP 301 – Urban Politics & Policy, Occidental College. Professor Virginia Parks, PhD.
• Jones, A.M. How Homeless Youth Navigate Multiple Marginalizations. Digital poster. American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA.
  • Member of the first cohort of digital poster presenters at ASA.
• Das, A., Jones, A.M., Hoffman, C. (January 2015). Beyond Description: A Workshop on Moving from Description to Analysis in Qualitative Social Work Research. Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR), New Orleans, LA.
  • Workshop featured notable social work scholars Deborah Padgett, PhD; Jane Gilgun, PhD; & Karen Staller, PhD.

Research In-Progress

Jones, A.M. (Dissertation proposal in progress). It’s Complicated:The Relationship Between Structural Violence in Youth Homelessness Policy and the Lives of LGBTQ+ Youth Experiencing Homelessness.

Jones, A.M. (In progress). Exploring the Utility of Youth Participatory Action Research with LGBTQ Youth Experiencing Homelessness.

Jones, A.M. (In progress). Paradox of Invisibility: Stories of Marginalization from Youth Experiencing Homelessness.

Skills Summary

Fun Stuff!