About
Amanda Thuy Manning grew up in Casco, Maine with her Mainer mother and Vietnamese refugee father. Growing up biracial and bicultural in rural Maine influenced not only her formative years, but also informed the focus of her professional life. In addition to her upbringing, being a first generation college student impacted her decision to become a university administrator. For 14 years, Amanda worked in various capacities in both private and public institutions in New England and a mid-sized research institution in the South.
She worked as the Director of Residential Life and Student Activities at Maine Maritime Academy for 6 years to provide training opportunities for students that support inclusivity and leadership development. Amanda’s work focused on mentoring, advising, and empowering diverse college students to develop into strong leaders and to help prepare them to work in a global society. In January 2020, wanting to have a more global impact (and more time with her family) Amanda shifted to the intercultural field, where she has worked both behind the scenes as a Director of Operations as well as in front of groups as an Intercultural Trainer and Coach. In 2022, Amanda helped found Waypoint Intercultural, LLC, where she served as their Chief of Operations until June of 2026.
Amanda holds degrees from Mount Ida College in Fashion Design (BS) and Arkansas State University in College Student Personnel Services (MS), and is a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI).
Amanda lives in Poland, Maine with her family.