ADP Campaign and Our New Senior Director, Amanda Antico

Dear ADP Participants and Friends,

It is with enormous excitement that we announce the American Democracy Project Campaign and the selection of ADP’s new senior director, Amanda Antico.

The American Democracy Project Campaign undertakes an effort to raise funds to significantly increase American Democracy Project (ADP) activities on AASCU campuses, as we seek to create the next generation of informed, engaged citizens for our democracy.  Leading this national fund-raising effort are two of ADP’s founders in 2003, Tom Ehrlich and Felice Nudelman, whom many of you know. That fund-raising work is already underway and has already generated impressive results.

The funding that is provided through this national effort will allow us to increase the number of programs and projects that will involve and engage our AASCU campuses, with a special focus on political engagement.  Equally important, the fund-raising has allowed us to add to our ADP staff by hiring a new senior director for ADP, who will direct the initiative and manage its growth in the years ahead, along with Jen, me and others.  So let us take a moment to introduce our new leader, Amanda Antico.

Early in her career, Amanda Antico co-founded and directed the nonprofit organization, the TLT Group, which focused on teaching, learning, and technology in higher education. In that role, Amanda consulted with more than 700 institutions, and designed and coordinated more than 75 workshops and 10 major national conferences with leaders in academia and educational technology companies.

In more recent years, Amanda has been a consultant, ultimately forming her own consulting firm. In her work, Amanda has guided students who are engaged in their local and state politics. Passionate about encouraging social entrepreneurship, Amanda is particularly interested in educating the next generation to build stronger and more engaging sustainable communities. She has taught courses in organizational development, organizational change, social entrepreneurship, and policy and innovation on both the undergraduate and graduate level at many institutions.

Amanda earned a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services and Psychology from George Washington University, a Master’s degree in Organizational Learning from George Mason University and a doctorate in social entrepreneurship from George Washington University. Her doctoral research examined how cities and companies use social capital and social networks to build entrepreneurial and innovative communities.

Amanda has used her skills, acumen, passion, and teams to guide a myriad of small business, major CSR efforts, educational institutions and entrepreneurial ventures to success. A proven leader in pioneering movements on campuses that impact global issues, Amanda will bring her combined academic and practitioner mindset to this inaugural role at ADP. She begins her work on January 2, 2018.

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These are difficult days for our democracy.  Bitter partisanship divides us.  Tolerance and respect for the views of others, hallmarks of our democratic way of life, are in short supply. Thoughtful reflection about public policy options are drowned out in a cacophony of angry and sometimes distorted dialogue.  Shared beliefs are challenged by partisan perspectives, where truth is sometimes a casualty.

Our republic has seen other difficult times in our past, other enormous challenges.  Yet our democracy survived.  We believe that democracy will prevail in this era as well but only if we work hard to create a generation of college graduates who understand and have practiced democracy as they have gone thru their undergraduate experience.

Given these difficult times, now more than ever, we need to focus on educating our students to be actively and responsibly engaged in public-policy issues. Our ADP Campaign and the hiring of a new leader for ADP, Amanda Antico, are steps we are taking to move to a new level of programming and impact.  We hope you will join us by participating in American Democracy Project activities, both on your own campus and in new national ADP activities that we will be designing and developing.

Thank you for all you have done to support ADP and this vital work.  Tom, Felice, Amanda, Jen and I look forward with enormous enthusiasm to the important work that lies ahead.

George and Jen

George L. Mehaffy
Vice President for Academic Leadership and Change
American Association of State Colleges and Universities

Jennifer M. Domagal-Goldman
National Manager, American Democracy Project
American Association of State Colleges and Universities