Amanda Schnetzer is a nonprofit executive with twenty years in the international arena. As founding director of the Human Freedom Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas, Texas, she is responsible for efforts to advance freedom by developing leaders in emerging democracies, standing with those who still live under tyranny, and fostering U.S. leadership through policy and action. In five years this has included launching an educational program to prepare young people for leadership in Burma; an advocacy initiative to improve human rights in North Korea; and a multi-media curriculum to help high school students connect the foundations of freedom to today's global struggles for liberty.
Previously Amanda was director of studies and a senior fellow with Freedom House in New York, where she guided research, methodology, and outreach for the organization's definitive studies of human freedom. At the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC, she conducted in-depth research on U.S. foreign policy, human freedom, and the impact of ideas and values on international policies. She is a published writer and editor. Amanda holds degrees from Georgetown University and Southern Methodist University, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
How has your life experience made you the leader you are today?
One of the most important insights that life has given me is to remember who you are. Every time I left the house as a teenager, my father would say "Remember who you are." I assumed he meant "Don't do something silly and embarrassing." He probably did, but over the years I have come to understand the deeper meaning in those words: Know the principles that guide your life and reflect them consistently in all that you do. People may not always agree with you, but they are more likely to respect you in general and as a leader if they understand what is driving your decisions.
Another insight is the recognition that I don't know it all and can always learn something new. I'm a Methodist minister's daughter, originally from Louisiana, where family, faith, and Creole cooking gave me a pretty good start in life. Neither my mother nor my father came from privilege. They demonstrated the importance of hard work and education to their success. I owe most of my own success to the same and try not to forget it.
How has your previous employment experience aided your tenure at The George W. Bush Institute?
After college I moved to Washington, DC, for graduate school and was certain my destiny was to become a diplomat. It didn't take long to realize that big bureaucracies and I would mix like oil and water; I never even took the Foreign Service exam. Instead, I set my sights on public policy research and the opportunity to influence government from the outside. My experiences since then have included time at a think tank, an NGO, an Internet startup, and a membership organization. While all different, there are common themes that prepared me to help a former President of the United States and First Lady build an action-oriented think tank.
First, most of my prior positions required making sense of pieces and getting the puzzle to fit together. Good strategy is about matching objectives and resources. Some people are better at the vision thing. Some are more skilled at implementation. A good leader sees how all the pieces come together in a cohesive, results-oriented way.
Second, all of these positions required an openness to learning. I sometimes joke that I have earned an on-the-job MBA. Skills learned by "stepping up" over the years when no one else did: strategy, planning, research, publishing, marketing, project management, and the list goes on. All of these skills have been useful in helping build the Bush Institute from the ground up.
What have the highlights and challenges been during your tenure at The George W. Bush Institute?
When I look back on the last five years, there are several highlights. One is witnessing the opening of the entire George W. Bush Presidential Center with President Obama and all living former Presidents--Democrats and Republicans alike--in attendance. In today's discouraging political environment, we need similar civic events that remind us of our shared values and common desire to live the American dream.
In the department I lead at the Bush Institute we work to help men and women around the globe achieve their vision for societies rooted in peace, prosperity, and freedom. Every meeting between President Bush and a former political prisoner from Burma, an escapee from North Korea, a dissident from Syria, Cuba, China, or elsewhere is a highlight. President and Mrs. Bush are sincere in their desire to offer inspiration and support to individuals who have sacrificed so much--and it shows in their interactions. I never cease to be moved.
As far as challenges go, I put a premium on having a plan. Strategy, structure, and process are my comfort zone, so I knew that working for a start-up organization would stretch me. I both feared and embraced the challenge, and at times it hasn't been easy. Today, though, I am equally comfortable with finding flexible, creative, entrepreneurial approaches to solving problems and getting things done. I've learned that liking structure and embracing flexibility are not mutually exclusive. A good leader recognizes what is best for the task at hand.
What advice can you offer to women who want a career in your industry?
Most of my career has been spent in the nonprofit sector, guided by certain principles and a passion for making a difference. Passion is important, but to succeed in today's nonprofit world you need the same skills required to succeed in business. You can have a vision, but you also need a strategy, financial intelligence, leadership and management skills, marketing savvy, and a compelling way of measuring your results. Donors want to know the return on their investment (i.e., impact). You have to know how to get results and communicate them.
What is the most important lesson you've learned in your career to date?
Never get lulled into thinking that you know it all. Always be open to learning and becoming a better person and leader.
How do you maintain a work/life balance?
A lot of it is trial and error--oh, and banishing the word "perfect" from your vocabulary. There are days when I collapse into bed late at night and wonder if I'm doing anything right at work and home. Most days, though, I'm tired but know I'm doing the best I can. The key is knowing what you are trying to balance...What do you value the most? For me, it's trying to be a good wife, loving mother, and successful professional. For someone else, or at a different stage in life, the mix might be different. Once you know what you're trying to balance, there are endless ways to get there.
What do you think is the biggest issue for women in the workplace?
Women today spend almost twice as much time on household work as men. This is true despite the dramatic increase in the number of working women in the last 60 years. Years ago my husband and I made a pact that as long as we both worked we would share equally in the chores and childcare. We have kept that promise to each other, and it has helped us stay focused on what we've decided is most important. I am lucky, and think more couples need to have this conversation.
How has mentorship made a difference in your professional and personal life?
Through the years, I have benefitted from mentoring relationships with both men and women who offered encouragement, shared insights, and opened their networks to me. Most importantly, they have been honest and direct with me when I started veering off track. It's why I have a strict pay-it-forward policy to try and help younger professionals today. Having an executive coach to discuss specific opportunities or challenges has also been invaluable in recent years. My advice: Seek out these relationships and don't be afraid of hearing things that might challenge your view of yourself.
Which other female leaders do you admire and why?
The female leaders I most admire are political women who have been guided by clear principles and big goals. Forceful leaders but still ladies. Margaret Thatcher broke the glass ceiling to become the first female prime minister of Great Britain. When she died in 2013, the Washington Post described the "forcefulness, conviction and eloquence" with which this Iron Lady revitalized a nation.
Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi endured tremendous personal loss and years of house arrest for the cause of freedom and democracy in Burma (Myanmar). Known simply as "The Lady" by the people of her country, she stared down dictators with strength and grace and recently led her party to a sweeping victory in Burma's first free elections in more than twenty years.
What do you want the Bush Institute to accomplish in the next year?
The Bush Institute is in an interesting period of transition from start-up to sustainability. For my team, it means taking programmatic models we have piloted successfully--around leadership development in emerging democracies, and around improving human rights in some of the least free places on earth--and figuring out what taking them to scale means. That's my kind of challenge, and I can't wait to see where we land.