Amanda Murphy

01/11/2024

Hear me out gym folks: (I want to say gym bros so bad but it feels important to speak to all humans) what if you traded one workout a week for a therapy appointment?

I meet so many humans who are buff and in shape, and that's all fine and good, and even important for the long-term quality of life. But, physical beauty is surface level and fleeting. I am on a healing journey and the best thing I did was give up chasing physical beauty for two years to work on me.

Emotional intelligence, learning how your patterns of behavior affect those you love, seeing your past traumas for what they are - other people's sick behavior, knowing on a deep level who you are as a human, and possibly getting to make a spiritual connection. That s**t will last you the rest of your life and positively impact all those in your circle, but most importantly, you.

And guess what, you'll come out the other side wanting to focus on the physical again, wanting to take care of yourself on this level you've never experienced before. Resting when you need to rest, setting boundaries with those toxic folks you work with or live with or are related to, laying down when you are tired, doing Pilates or Yoga or Zumba, or a marathon or triathlon.

Fighting the patriarchy is going to take all of us recognizing the harm this system has done to not just marginalized folks, but all humans. The only way we can see the harm done to us, is by first looking inward, taking that leap of faith to commit to learning who you are and how you've impacted the world around you, positively and negatively. And for the love of nature, giving ourselves grace so we can release the shame and guilt.

Think about it, I'm betting that gym membership will still be there in a year if you decide to trade the cost of the gym for the cost of therapy. Let me know if you need help finding a good therapist, I know some people.

Love ya'll, mean it.

01/10/2024

Good morning ya'll! I officially resigned from my full time director-level position at a statewide nonprofit to pursue my dream of being a business owner. I'm stoked that this dream came to fruition so fast, but also terrified of the discomfort that I know is coming in building something new, but also so happy to lead in my own way. There are so many more feelings right now but those are the big ones.

I started Momentum for Good, LLC in January last year and was able to commit 100% to building it this year. I contracted on a couple of small projects in 2023, which was exciting to do as a side gig. In late 2023, a networking connection on here posted about a grant writing and outreach position to help rural communities get funding to take care of their basic needs like water/sewer/roads.

I'm from a rural community in North Carolina, Hope Mills, and growing up I saw poverty and systemic racism and oppression. I didn't realize that was what it was called when I was riding the bus to school with kids with no lunch. But I felt it deeply when my fifth grade teacher asked those kids getting free lunch to come to the front of the class and we all stared at them not knowing what to say. I didn't understand why he would attempt to shame them for their lack of resources. But I get it now, he needed some therapy to look at his issues with power and control. I can't change him, but I can look at my work and see how I can support disadvantaged communities in my state.

Today, I get to use my expertise in proposal writing, creative writing, and outreach/listening to work to dismantle oppression and the patriarchy by pulling on one small thread of injustice in our communities.

I'm an expert at making sure you get the best return on investment with your communications and marketing. I've got some room for 1-2 strategy clients right now. If you need support to grow your client or membership list, let me know.

11/21/2023

Someone I admire immensely for her way with words, posted the other day a list of the things she is, “heckin’ good at”. It got me thinking, what better way to help your people find you than a list with your specific problem-solving abilities…

You need to fundraise money?
You need to get your story out to the public and media but aren’t sure how?
Need to build media relationships but don’t want to screw things up?
Have crisis communications that are delicate and need a little hand holding?
You need to tell your story to build followers and engagement, and a community?
Set up data analytics for all the marketing you do to see if you are actually getting a good return on investment?
Help managing vendors to make sure you get the return on investment you were promised?
Help figuring out which vendor to go with and how to compare apples to apples when it comes to marketing speak?

I have these specific skills, honed over a lifetime, well really fifteen years and some change. I’ll leave healthcare stuff to Lauren Howard, and vigilante planning to Liam Neeson. I’m your person when it comes to problem solving that list above.

Do you have a specific set of skills? What is it that makes you unique?

Here is that LinkedIn post I refer to: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/elletwo_liam-neeson-and-i-have-something-in-common-activity-7130309975641350145-MMfN/

11/16/2023

A friend of mine has lived overseas and has the international community in her ear because of the connections she has made over a lifetime. She is a member of a BIPOC community, and I value her opinion deeply. She recently brought up how huge swaths of the BIPOC community are not going to vote for our sitting president in 2024. At the time, I was coming off the excitement of attending a recent summit to help elect people I admire and I was appalled at first and began my list of reasons why she was wrong. My first instinct is to argue when I don’t like what I’m hearing because what I’m hearing might mean I’m in the wrong.

But then something told me to shut my mouth and listen, take the pause. She pointed out how what is happening in Israel and Palestine is similar to the general narrative that some people/communities are okay to lose and some are not.

I’ve not been able to stop thinking about this for more than a week, which is nothing compared to the pain those folks are experiencing living in Gaza or Israel or with families there. I feel it’s important to voice my opinion right now because I don’t see a lot of folks that look like me speaking publicly.

I’m not anti Israel, or anti Palestine, I’m pro human, pro innocent children, pro ending genocide against any community. And don’t even think about telling me the situation is complicated or that I don’t understand. I have a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from a top ranked business school here in the US, I got a Masters Degree in International Studies, and have been following national politics diligently for almost seven years, when the unimaginable happened. I know what I see and I’ve done my homework. This situation is not complicated, it is genocide.

Killing innocent humans is not okay. I keep seeing arguments for both sides, but I think there are no both sides anymore, there is only humanity. And this killing has to stop.

If any community is unsafe, we are all unsafe. If anyone is not free, none of us are free.

11/09/2023

Ya'll, I had an awesome opportunity at work the other day. My boss had a situation pop up last minute and wasn't available to present at a partner conference, so he asked me to step in. The association I work for offers competitively priced timberland insurance to our members and we were asked to talk about it to the Sustainable Forestry Land Retention Project landowner conference.

First of all, I knew nothing about timberland or hunt club insurance other than what I’ve read on our website. My first thought was to laugh and say, “Um, I know nothing about that topic and no, thank you”. But I sat for a bit, took the pause, which has been a professional and personal game changer for me. My first thought typically comes from fear. Choosing to move past that first thought has brought me to a lot of pretty amazing places.

My second thought was, “I feel honored to be asked”, and my third thought was, “I’m excited!”

I had 24 hours to prepare a script and presentation to talk to landowners in eastern NC. I had an older script to pull from and several older presentations but I like to make things my own, graphically, and conversationally. I asked myself, what would I NEED to know if I was a landowner in NC? And then I wrote about that.

Instead of running scared and denying myself an opportunity, I presented to a full room of about 100 people, in person. And it was a conversation, and there were so many good questions, which was encouraging. I realized I was helping people from rural NC, and that felt amazing. Funny how opportunities show up looking like hard work.

Imagine what is just on the other side of fear?

08/26/2022

Holy awesome moment last night. Congratulations Elect Carissa Johnson. You are exactly where you are meant to be. I cannot wait to see the good you do in our community, just by being yourself.

08/23/2022

Ya'll, please take 10 minutes (it only took me like five but we are being realistic) and fill out this survey for Kristen Fontana. She is getting her masters degree at North Carolina State University in Climate Change and Society. She spent two years as a communciations intern at forestry with me and I love watching her communications skills come to life more and more each day.

She needs your help! Take the survey! Her goal with the survey is to gauge different views on climate change and climate action.

Hello! My name is Kristen Fontana, and I am a graduate student at NC State University pursuing a master's degree in Climate Change and Society. My capstone project will explore different perceptions of climate change to develop an effective climate action plan capable of receiving unanimous politica...

08/23/2022

Now this is news I can use...

The change will make it harder for Republicans to win back control of the chamber in November.

08/22/2022

Drop a comment on how this video makes you feel. I'll go first...

https://fb.watch/f399jIwaeV/

08/17/2022

Folks with high school/college kids in NC, check out this easy apply $1,000 scholoarship application from CFNC:

NC Assist is awarding $1,000 scholarships every month! Click here to learn more about our no-essay scholarship and how easy it is to qualify.

08/17/2022

This looks really good!

Get your ticket to join Dr. Mandy Cohen, Sam Searcy, and Sydney in Holly Springs next weekend! Tickets start at $50
Link -->> https://secure.actblue.com/donate/cohensearcy

08/16/2022

I don't know about you but I’m ready to help get the next democratic, progressive leadership elected to the NC house. I’m throwing my support behind Maria Louisa Saulog Cervania and Ya Liu, Cary Town Councilwoman for the November elections.

Both of these women are currently serving our community, Ya as a Cary councilmember and Maria as a county commissioner. They both campaigned for me during my election this May and both are also strong leaders in the local community in Cary.

I hope you will join me in the upcoming day of action rally, details and link to register below.

08/15/2022

How cute and important is this? It's a repair cafe!

After a two-year hiatus, Cary welcomed back the Repair-Café. 44 folks brought in a total of 51 items for repair—from talking teddy bears 🧸 to televisions 📺 —with a 65% success rate. Kudos to everyone who chose to keep these materials ticking and out of the landfill.

08/10/2022

Thought folks might be interested in this little nugget. The federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), provides eligible households $30 per month off their internet bills. Check out the link for more details on how to qualify. They also offer $100 off devices if you qualify.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/getinternet/?utm_source=getinternet.gov

07/30/2022

Learning about campaign priorities at my favorite local coffee shop.

Read more here: https://www.swansonforwake.com/issues

07/26/2022

Let's do this!

Polls are open 6:30am to 7:30pm today!

07/26/2022

Let's get Elect Carissa Johnson and Jack Smith elected for Cary Town Council, and Willie Rowe for sheriff. Find your polling spot here, today's the day:

Search for voter details, including jurisdictions, polling place, sample ballot when available, absentee ballot information, and voter history.

07/25/2022

If you needed a reason to vote on Tuesday, I found one for you!
Elect Carissa Johnson

07/24/2022

Ya Liu shares that she has a law degree from North Carolina Central University that she finished while raising three kids, and worked full time at Duke Law School as a faculty member. What an honor to have her represent us at NCGA.

07/24/2022

Maria Cervania speaks on her background. Did you know she is not only our Commissioner, but an epidemiologist? What better candidate could we have for NC House!!!

07/24/2022

Great event to raise money for and ! Wonderful speakers including !

07/24/2022

Join me in supporting these awesome ladies today! Ya Liu, Cary Town Councilwoman and Maria Cervania

https://facebook.com/events/s/event-in-support-of-maria-cerv/572345074379498/

07/23/2022

At a precinct meeting 18-05 meeting.

07/19/2022

We need poll greeters through Saturday, several new 5pm shifts available: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4daaad2dabf9c61-early9

Also, Elect Carissa Johnson just set up some canvassing for this weekend, sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080b48a9ae2eab9-carissa

This is the home stretch! Please join us for a final canvassing push to knock on doors and ask that voters return to the polls one more time. We will focus only on regularly voting Dems and Democrat-leaning unaffiliated voters. Your help is so greatly appreciated - Thank you!

07/18/2022

Please support my friend Julie Olson von Haefen, AND go listen to great music from Tift Merritt (Grammy nominated singer/songwriter)

I'm really excited to announce that Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Tift Merritt will be performing at my September fundraiser! Save the date for September 7 and join me in Carrboro for this exciting event! Get your tickets at www.juliefornc.com/events

07/17/2022

What Maria said! Go vote this week! Maria Cervania