Amy Hurd: The Voice Women Need

Amy and her husband

“There’s room for everyone… A woman is not taking a man’s space. We just need to make more room. We need a bigger table. We need more voices.” Amy Hurd was in corporate America for almost 30 years and started the first women’s resource group at US Bank. “The women I’ve worked with have some of the highest scores in the company. People want to work for them. As a result of that, we significantly moved up the number of women in leadership positions.” By the time she retired, there were over 800 women in the resource group, networking and lifting each other up.

Mentorship and training for women has been a passion for Amy. She’s been able to apply that to her volunteer work with Red Cross. She’s going on four years as a Community Volunteer Leader (CVL), providing resources on leadership to our executive directors. “In those 4 years, our state has had fires, tornadoes, floods. My one question is: How are you doing? Are you okay? How can you lead this work if you are not taking care of your own mental health and wellbeing?”

Amy has been a key component of navigating conflict management. “What I’ve learned with people at the Red Cross is so many of them have a big heart. Where I come from in corporate America, there is more forcefulness around tough or uncomfortable conversations. I’ve noticed at Red Cross that conflict is viewed as negative. My perspective is conflict is healthy. When I understand where you are coming from and what we disagree on, we can move forward. I’ve helped the executive team understand conflict is not a bad thing.”

She spends her time coaching our team and building their confidence. “I’m on calls giving them tips on their public speaking and helping them build a meeting or agenda. We do a lot of work around StrengthsFinder,” said Amy. Through her career, she has lived in Arizona and Nevada. She was in Las Vegas during the 2017 shooting at a country music festival. “I was there that day and the days following. I saw the community come together in a way I have never seen. I don’t want to wait for a disaster to happen to give back. Giving back to your community is critically important. It’s what makes a community strong. Looking out for each other. We are in this life together,” said Amy.

You could say volunteering is a family affair for Amy. She is a O+ blood donor. Her husband donates blood with us every 60 days “without fail.” Her mother-in-law donated blood and volunteered with us for over 50 years. “I sincerely could not think of another organization that has the impact in the community like the Red Cross,” said Amy. She keeps all her mother-in-law’s blood donor pins and awards.

Amy and her husband love to travel, visiting over 40 countries together. They would love to live outside the country one day and explore volunteer work with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. They have a soft spot for rescue dogs and love spoiling their dog, Beatrix. #VolunteerAppreciationMonth