Raised in California, Amanda was named the Youth Poet Laureate of Los Angeles at the age of 16. A few years later, while studying sociology at Harvard University, Amanda became the National Youth Poet Laureate, the first person to hold the position.
Amanda has spoken around the country from the United Nations to the Library of Congress, alongside the likes of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Hillary Clinton. Her first poetry book, “The One for Whom Food is Not Enough” was published in 2015 by Penmanship Books. She is the Founder and Executive Director of One Pen One Page, which promotes literacy through free creative writing programming for underserved youth. In January 2021, she delivered the poem, “The Hill We Climb” at the inauguration of President Joe Biden.
