Amanda Lynch

Amanda Lynch is a trauma-informed author, speaker, and educator who helps communities and organizations build systems of care that are rooted in healing, equity, and emotional wellness. She is the founder of Rethinking Resiliency and the creator of Rise & Thrive, a brain-based curriculum that supports self-regulation, leadership, and social-emotional growth for children and the adults who support them.

Lynch’s work in trauma-informed education and emotional wellness spans nearly twenty years, beginning in the classroom and evolving into systems-level leadership. In October 2022, Lynch’s husband, Marcus, was killed by gun violence. His loss did not begin her work, but it forever deepened it. She now brings her lived experience into correctional settings through the Virginia Department of Corrections’ Victim Impact program and works across sectors to build more responsive, accountable systems.

She partners with schools, nonprofits, healthcare systems, and corporate teams to guide strategic planning, facilitate healing-centered circles, and design environments where people feel safe enough to grow. Her work is both personal and systemic, rooted in storytelling and systems change.

Lynch is also developing Find Your Float, a trauma-informed water safety and injury prevention initiative inspired by her family’s healing journey through swimming and diving. The program helps families—especially those historically excluded from swim culture—build emotional regulation and safety skills through story and mindfulness.

Her work has been featured on CBS 6’s Virginia This Morning, NBC12, WRIC, VPM, and Inside Edition, as well as in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Mighty, and The Zoe Report. She is the author of several bestselling books, including Off the Deep End, A Million Little Stars, and My Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams.