Amanda Padilla has worked independently in the human rights field for the past seven years in various capacities including partnerships and outreach, philanthropy, programs, and communications; she is currently the Grants Specialist and Technical Writer at Namati.

Though the foci of her work has varied- from modern day slavery to the U.S. criminal justice system to homelessness and poverty- justice and accountability have remained the common threads critical in advancing human dignity across the board. Notably, she facilitated the philanthropic outreach for the Partnership for Freedom, a private-public initiative announced by President Obama in 2012, helping to strengthen donor relations and procure support for anti-trafficking and modern slavery eradication efforts. Additionally, she was on the team responsible for creating “Immersion Journey: Human Rights,” the first U.S. donor education program specifically geared towards human rights.

Amanda earned her M.A. in International Politics with an emphasis on human rights from the University of Texas at San Antonio where she examined the impact of U.S. military aid on countries with known records of mass atrocities and gross human rights violations. She formerly served on the Women’s Community Clinic Advisory Council in San Francisco and recently volunteered at Gardens for Health in Rwanda. Over the past 18 months she has travelled and lived in Southeast Asia, Europe and Africa; she currently resides in Indonesia.