IN MEMORY OF A YW WOMAN ON A MISSION

Amanda DeAngelis (née Sileo) joined the YWCA Princeton in 2017 as a Communications and Marketing Manager, and was an inaugural member of the NEXT GEN Board. She was a passionate advocate of the YWCA mission and a champion of women’s rights. As a volunteer phone operator for Womanspace’s hotline, Amanda knew how to listen. She completed 80 hours of training and was qualified to provide support to women facing domestic violence and/or sexual assault, and did so with empathy and compassion. I met Amanda when I was president of the Board of Directors at YWCA Princeton. During my tenure, I spent every Tuesday learning the business of the YW and getting to know the staff. I remember my Tuesdays with Amanda. In order to make our board relevant to the mission of the YW-we needed input from the generation of women and families we served. But this next generation did not have board experience. So we created a way “The NEXT GEN Board” to help them learn about the business, mission, and responsibilities of a nonprofit Board of Directors.

And as a leader on our NEXT GEN Board, Amanda knew how to use her voice to empower others. She won the 2017 NEXT GEN Poetry slam with her poem, “After #metoo, how are we going to change?”, which brought attention to the damage caused by rape culture and victim blaming. She also had a blog post published by World YWCA that urged the importance of establishing a platform for women of color within the #MeToo movement, with emphasis on the fact that it was created by Tarana Burke, a Black woman.

In 2018, Amanda was selected as a YWCA USA delegate at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women’s sixty-second session in New York. She stayed involved with the YW as a NEXT GEN representative after she left the Development team — and though her time as a staff member was brief — it was impactful. Amanda remained close with former CEO Judy Hutton, who described her as “a true warrior fighting injustice and, in spite of her being chronically ill, continued to be a warrior until the end…. She was talented, passionate, and compassionate.” Amanda went on to become a film publicist, and married her husband, Chris, later that year.

Throughout much of her life, Amanda lived with an ultrarare condition known as gastroparesis and navigated associated health challenges that intensified in recent years. We (Amanda’s family and friends at the YW) are extremely saddened to share that Amanda passed away in November of 2022. She is remembered fondly by everyone who worked with her, and we extend our deepest condolences to the many friends and family who loved her.

We thank her father, Adam, for allowing us to share Amanda’s story.