aManda Greene
aManda lived a joyous life of service, giving fully of herself to create a legacy that would benefit generations to come. With an intuitive understanding that the fate of humanity is dependent upon the dreams and hopes of our youth, aManda devoted years of her life to earning an MBA in Sustainable Business from Dominican University in San Rafael.
For her final MBA thesis, aManda created a 50-page business model for Youth Impact Hub Oakland. This model was used to secure the initial funding and partnerships required to launch the first Oakland Youth Hub Fellowship program in 2013. Today, aManda’s legacy lives on in the over 75 youth-led social enterprise projects she directly supported, and in the thousands of community members who have been positively impacted as a result.
In her personal life, aManda was a beacon of joy, love, and positivity. She had an innate ability to connect with people from different walks of life, celebrating their uniqueness while also highlighting their shared humanity. Her enthusiasm, warmth, and optimism were infectious, inspiring her friends and peers to live lives of purpose, gratitude, and service.
When aManda passed away unexpectedly at the age of 37, on February 12th, 2018, the outpouring of love and support from those she had touched was overwhelming. Despite the adversity she faced, she remained an inspiration to all those around her. Her unwavering positivity and determination to fight until the end left a lasting impact on everyone who knew her.
She is remembered for her strength, kindness, and compassion, and her legacy lives on through the many lives she touched. Though she may be physically gone, her spirit will continue to guide and inspire those who knew her. Her memory is a blessing.
aManda’s story is one of multiculturalism, creativity, and exploration. Born in Marin County, California on August 28th, 1981, aManda was raised by her single Brazilian mother in both California and Rio de Janeiro.As a rebellious teenager, aManda found solace in the world of art. She explored a wide range of mediums, including permaculture, ceramics, paint, photography, fabric, silver, metal, jewelry making, fibers, reclaimed materials, hand percussion, as well as a variety of Afro-based, fire, and improvisational dance.
Through her passion for art and social justice, aManda has created a unique and inspiring story that showcases the power of creativity to connect people and cultures.
In 2004, aManda was awarded a scholarship from PAL, Permacultura America Latina, which enabled her to attend a Permaculture certification course in Brazil. Her passion for the environment and sustainability led her to co-found OPA, Organization of Permaculture and Arts, a community-based environmental circus in Salvador Bahia, Brazil, in the same year. Check out the photographs aManda took during her work with OPA in Bahia in the video she created on left.
After returning to the United States in ’05, aManda pursued further education in the Culture, Ecology, and Sustainable Community program at the New College of California in San Francisco, where she graduated. Her dedication to sustainable living was showcased in the “Power Down Project,” which she and her classmates presented at the Solar Living Festival on August 20th, 2006. Check out the video to see aManda and her classmates in action!
During her BA studies at New College in San Francisco, aManda coordinated Urban GREEN- an urban permaculture regeneration project at the New Dharma Meditation Center for UrbanPEACE and was co-director of “Our Garden” a gardening and urban ecology program at Hoover Elementary in Oakland California.
In ’07 aManda traveled to India to apprentice Permaculture with Rico Zook. The next year, 2008, co-leading with Rico, she returned to India to take a group on a Permaculture Certification Tour in the South of India. See the description and photos of the program here
In 2011 aManda graduated with an MBA in Sustainable Enterprise from Dominican University, in San Rafael, CA. She felt that “her education gave her the tools to acquire a deep understanding of how to develop socially and economically sustainable practices, locally and internationally”, and it became her mission.
After working the next two years with Ashoka’s Youth Venture San Francisco Bay Area, in 2013 she co-founded with Gino Pastori-NG and became the co-director of Youth SEED (Youth Social Entrepreneurship for Equitable Development) which later became Youth Impact Hub Oakland.
“To be human is to create. It is how we connect, how we transform. How we make meaning and how we interpret and make manifest the challenges and joys of our human experience. Art and Culture have always played a pivotal role in my understanding
of the world.”
"aManda was passionate for her ideals. She created work that will live beyond her journey on Earth."
"We need more people like her in the world…driven by heart, community, culture and dedication for making the world a better place."
"She lived by such truth with an authentic heart driven by passion to serve others in a way that was in alignment with the people and with the Earth."
"Heart of gold, lover of nature, believer in the youth and hope for the future respectful and respected. Dancer, artist, co-founder and co-director of Oakland’s youth Impact Hub, she spent days, months, years of her life on creating innovative solutions to help minority youths
May your efforts live on in your legacy.
Blessed soul."
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