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July 25, 2016 40 Under Forty 2016

Amanda Kathleen Young

Amanda Kathleen Young Amanda Kathleen Young, Chief Communications/Marketing Officer, Wadsworth Atheneum
Amanda Kathleen Young, center, talks with former Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra at the Wadsworth. Amanda Kathleen Young, center, talks with former Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra at the Wadsworth.
Amanda Kathleen Young Amanda Kathleen Young

Age: 36

Company: Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

Title: Chief Communications/Marketing Officer

Town where I live: Hartford's West End

Town where I work: Hartford

College: Bucknell University (Bachelor's), Shenandoah University (Master's)

Q&A:

What do you do and what are your goals in your current job? I oversee communications and marketing at America's oldest continuously-operating public art museum. I also am temporarily heading up the development department. My main goal right now is making the Wadsworth Atheneum a vital community resource and a place where our neighbors want to gather.

What are your goals for your community involvement? I recently moved into the city and am always game to support the arts, and patronize places like Hartford Stage, TheaterWorks, Real Art Ways and EBK Gallery. My goal is to spend more time helping grassroots efforts improve life in Hartford.

What's your biggest passion? My life's passion has been making other people happy including helping colleagues at work, offering a kind word to a stranger, making people laugh or comforting a friend in distress.

What are your future aspirations? I hope to continue working to enrich others' life experiences through the arts and culture. I also would really like to have a family, if that's in the cards. But my pie-in-the-sky goal is to someday own a little inn by the shore. There will be scones and a hammock!

What role can young leaders play in shaping Hartford's future? Hartford is a city burgeoning with potential. I think those who hold leadership roles here can start by taking ownership of the place we live and work, and using our connections for the greater good. Living in the west end and working downtown I care about quality of life and accessibility to city resources.

List four reasons why you deserve to be a 40 Under Forty:

  1. Within two years of being hired as the marketing manager at the Wadsworth Atheneum, I was promoted to director of marketing and communications and again to chief communications and marketing officer, making me the youngest member of the senior-management team.
  2. I played an integral role in the success of the Wadsworth Atheneum's grand reopening after a five-year renovation, shining the national spotlight on the museum through major press coverage and celebratory events.
  3. I was one of three staff members directing the museum through its transition between CEOs.
  4. I am a member of the iQuilt board of corporators.

Time Tested:

What personal possession in your life has withstood the test of time? My sense of adventure!

What hobby did you develop at a young age that you still enjoy today? Singing

Twenty years ago, what did you envision as your future profession? A museum administrator. No joke.

Who do you consider your mentor? My former boss, Laura Baptiste, Public Affairs Officer at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

See the complete list of Forty Under 40 Winners for 2016! 

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