Women Who Inspire Wednesday: Amanda Valenzuela
Written by Program Coordinator, Chris Schnell
Advocate. Leader. Policy Shaper. Mom.
Born in Sacramento and raised between the quiet winters of Tok and the bustle of Anchorage, Amanda Valenzuela understands the many faces of “community.” Growing up in both a one-road frontier town and Alaska’s biggest city taught her that connection isn’t about population size—it’s about showing up for each other. That belief became the foundation of her work in human services.
Amanda’s first job in the field was at a substance abuse treatment center, where her own lived experience fueled a conviction that “where you start isn’t where you have to end up.” She learned to meet people in their hardest moments without flinching. Later, at Covenant House Alaska, she found her passion in working with youth and marginalized populations—helping them, as she puts it, “rewrite the narratives society hands them.” Amanda spent a major part of her career at Covenant House helping young people exit homelessness and access safe, stable housing—work that left a lasting impact on both the youth she served and the systems she navigated on their behalf.
Her journey hasn’t been easy. Amanda raised two children as a young single mother, piecing together childcare, riding city buses to work, and studying after bedtime stories. “Those years felt like climbing Denali without crampons,” she says, but they also forged the resilience she now brings to her leadership. “Your story is power, not baggage,” she says. “Speak it aloud; systems only change when those inside them refuse to shrink.”
Mentorship played a key role in her growth. A series of bold, collaborative women pushed her forward—sometimes literally. “They didn’t just open doors; they nudged me through,” Amanda recalls. Promotions followed every time she leaned into discomfort and chose to learn the policy behind the practice, ultimately leading to her current role as Systems Advocacy Manager at AWAIC.
Now completing her Certificate in Nonprofit Management through the Foraker Group, Amanda is focused on improving systems of care for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, always with an eye on justice and autonomy. Her advice to future advocates is simple but powerful: “Master the unglamorous details—data entry, grant citations, mopping the shelter floor at 2 a.m. Integrity in small things earns you the right to speak on big ones.”
Amanda defines success not by titles or awards, but by impact: “It’s structural change that shows up in someone’s daily life—affordable rent paid on time, a fridge full of groceries bought with their own debit card, a case-management database that finally counts what really matters.”
Amanda’s story is a testament to what’s possible when grit, purpose, and community converge. As she puts it, “If the path doesn’t exist, carve it.”