Designing spaces and systems where people grow.
Consulting, facilitation, and community experiences rooted in clarity, integrity, and depth.
Meet Amanda
Founder | Facilitator | People Strategist
After more than a decade leading HR and people operations inside fast-growing organizations, I began to notice something: the most successful companies weren’t just compliant. They were emotionally intelligent, relational, and intentional. Structure matters — but how people feel inside that structure matters more.
I founded Soma to bridge both worlds.
I care deeply about how people experience their work and their lives. I consider the sacred essential, but not serious. Being silly is a love language and laughing at myself is my number one self-care strategy. I aim to bring clarity, directness, and a little humor to the room. If we’re working together, it will be thoughtful, relational, and grounded — not formal or overly precious.
I live in Columbia, Missouri, with my partner and a busy household that keeps me humble. If I’m not working, I’m probably at a basketball game cheering too loudly, walking my Aussies (who are absolutely my best friends), or sweating through my leggings at hot yoga.
Credentials & Background
• M.A. in Strategic Leadership
• SHRM-CP Certified Professional
• 10+ years in HR leadership and organizational development
• Experience building compliant infrastructure from the ground up
• Leadership coaching through growth, transition, and change
• Culture design focused on trust, clarity, and sustainability
Commitments
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Make things simple enough to understand and strong enough to act on.
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Take responsibility for your choices, your energy, and your growth.
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Build in ways you can maintain — without burning out or blowing up.
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Hold the simple truth that we belong to each other.
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Let your values, your desires, and your actions live in the same place.
Where My Work HappensSoma supports growth in multiple settings:
• Inside organizations — through consulting, leadership development, and strategic partnership
• In community — through reflective workshops, book circles, and facilitated gatherings
• With individuals — through thoughtful conversation, guided inquiry, and intentional support
Different formats. Same foundation.
Foundational Reading
This work stands on the shoulders of thinkers, poets, and practitioners that I consider the ancestors of my creative practice. These teachers have expanded how I understand leadership, embodiment, culture, and power.
I’m sharing a small selection here — books that influenced my thinking and that I couldn’t stop talking about once I finished them.
Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés
A mythic deep-dive into the wild feminine psyche — essential if you’re ready to trust your instincts more than your conditioning.
Love Trilogy by bell hooks
A three-part meditation on love as practice — not just a feeling, but an ethic that reshapes how we partner, lead, and stay in integrity.
Mating in Captivity by Ester Perel
A smart, layered look at desire in long-term love — especially for those who want intimacy without losing autonomy.
Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brown
An unapologetic argument that pleasure is political — and that joy, embodiment, and justice are not separate conversations.
The Body Is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
A direct challenge to the cultural shame we carry in our bodies — and an invitation to stop apologizing for taking up space.
Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach
A steadying companion for when your inner critic gets loud — teaching compassion that doesn’t collapse into passivity.
Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
A practical framework for courageous leadership — where vulnerability is strength and accountability is non-negotiable.
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
A reminder that creativity isn’t reserved for the chosen — it belongs to anyone willing to make the work anyway.
Step into the Salon.
View upcoming gatherings or connect with me directly.