Amy Downs

Amy Downs was one of the last survivors to be pulled from the rubble of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, in which a total of 168 people were killed, including 18 of her 33 co-workers. While buried alive and waiting to die, she realized she had never really lived. Once freed from the rubble, Downs promised God she would never live her life the same. She began her career as a teller 32 years ago, working for Federal Employees Credit Union located in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. At the time of the bombing, Downs was a credit card loan officer who had flunked out of college and weighed more than 350 pounds.

In the coming years, she’d not only lose weight but become a triathlete—and even compete in an Ironman Triathlon. She’d not only go back to school, but she’d graduate with a Master's of Business Administration. She’d not only get promoted by Federal Employees Credit Union (who would soon change their name to Allegiance Credit Union), but she eventually became its CEO—an award-winning CEO, no less. She didn’t just fulfill her promise. She literally ran laps around it.

For nearly twenty years, Downs has been an inspirational subject in national and local media for her survival of the Alfred P. Murrah Building bombing, the deadliest domestic terror attack in our nation’s history. However, Downs now shares a message more powerful than her survival: her transformation in the aftermath. Her inspirational story of triumphant transformation through evil is a crucial message that will leave the audience feeling inspired and open to growth.