Amanda Dewey

Dr. Amanda Dewey is the Chief Operating Officer of Dazzle Africa.

Amanda began her career as a mid-Atlantic field organizer and special projects coordinator for the Endangered Species Coalition, where she later served as Board Chair. She served as Mayor of the Town of Berwyn Heights, Maryland from 2020 to 2022 after serving two years as a Councilmember, where she focused on community engagement and sustainability.

Amanda was trained as a sociologist, with research interests including environmental attitudes and values, environmental movements, environmental organizations, and human-wildlife issues. Between 2015 and 2021, Amanda pursued her doctoral degree in environmental sociology, teaching at the University of Maryland and conducting research on conservation organizations and organizational and supporter environmental values as well as climate policy. After graduate school, she worked as a research manager for the American-Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, supporting local governments in research and action to address climate change.

Amanda has been involved in wildlife conservation for over 12 years and is always looking for new ways to support community-oriented conservation approaches. Outside of her professional work, Amanda has also been involved in a variety of other wildlife-related campaigns and organizations, including the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s iWorry campaign to end ivory trafficking.

In 2022, Amanda ran into some Dazzle folks in Annapolis, MD and joined the organization almost as soon as she learned more about the organization’s mission, approach, and exciting projects. Amanda believes that efforts to protect ecosystems will never be successful if they aren’t guided by local knowledge and priorities.

Amanda grew up outside of St. Louis, Missouri, and received her bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Theatre from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in Sociology from the University of Maryland in College Park. Amanda lives in Maryland with her husband, Blake, and two rescue hounds, Remy and Ebby. Her superpower is being in the right place at the right time in strange animal situations - from rescuing stranded turtles at her local lake to finding lost dogs and cats hanging out on her front porch. You’ll often find her reading, paddleboarding, walking her pups, or enjoying local restaurants with friends.