Detroit Metropolitan Area
A consultant, strategist, and educator in food systems, sustainability, social enterprise, and nonprofits, Edmonds has more than 20 years of experience as a positive change maker. She works both as a consultant and as a faculty member at University of Michigan in sustainable food systems. Background: Edmonds retired in 2017 as the founding executive director of Growing Hope, a 21-year-old nonprofit dedicated to helping people grow and access healthy food, whose work included farmers markets, urban agriculture, youth development, and good food policy. In that role she became a leader in sustainable and local food policy, including as a founding member and vice chair of the Washtenaw Food Policy Council, a gubernatorial appointee to the MI Food Policy Council, and having successfully supported the development and passage of food related policies from local to state levels. She brings these decades of experience to her work as a consultant with nonprofit, foundation, and university clients. She travels nationally as a speaker and a trainer. Between 2014-2018, Edmonds served in elected office as the Mayor of the City of Ypsilanti, Michigan, a diverse and historic urban community of 20,000 residents in southeast Michigan, where she was driven by how to create sustainable and equitable communities. Additionally, during nearly eight years serving Ypsilanti's Downtown Development Authority, she helped this body develop vision and strategy to most effectively support our invigorated commercial districts.
I am a teaching faculty with the Program in the Environment, as well as the faculty lead for the Sustainable Food Systems Initiative. I'm excited to be the permanent faculty member for the 10 year old Food Literacy for All course, which is a undergrad/grad seminar featuring sustainable food system leaders from across the US and world, and is also open to the public to join for free via Zoom webinars.
I've rebranded in 2024 so AM Edmonds LLC, my consulting company, is now known as Beehive Strategies! I'm still providing consulting primarily to the nonprofit, government, and foundation sectors in all things strategy, evaluation, policy, and communications. Much of my work has been in sustainable food systems (and farmers markets in particular), but I'm looking forward to new opportunities around local sustainability and climate issues as well. My new tagline is Pollinating positive impact! I'll be relocating back to Michigan from London, UK in spring 2024, and look forward to adding some new projects to the mix.
Artist/photographer of AMEPIX:Amanda Maria Edmonds. See my work at amepix.etsy.com. Currently focusing on nature- and place-inspired laser cut jewelry, puzzles, toys, ornaments and accessories, featuring botanically-based illustrations, map-inspired puzzles, and more. Wholesale and custom work is always welcome. Please write me via Etsy messenger.
With over 20 years of leadership experience in the nonprofit sector, deep expertise in (particularly urban) food systems, and hands on policy work as both an elected official and as an advocate, Edmonds lends her skills as a consultant, speaker, educator, and strategist. She has keynoted to audiences for many years on topics including making visionary and practical place-based change, food systems, nonprofit organizational development, policy, and much more. A systems thinker, she loves bringing ideas into action and creating strategy to move good work forward across sectors.