1. Do you have any nicknames?
Ames

2. What is the first thing you do when you wake up?
I have a five-month-old baby, so she usually wakes me up before my alarm goes off. The first thing I do is check the time (usually shedding a tear for the lost sleep) and then I’ll grab her.

3. What is your favorite part about working as a communications specialist?
I love learning about my customer’s strategic partnerships and helping to facilitate successful engagements. It’s a part of a dynamic mission and I take a lot of pride in supporting that.

4. How did you get started in this industry?
I had zero experience in government contracting and was fortunate enough to have a few people who believed in me and gave me a shot. I started in recruiting and then branched into a few other areas of business operations from there.

5. What are your favorite tools of the trade? What are the worst?
Oh gosh, I mostly use Microsoft applications in my position, and I have a love/hate relationship with SharePoint and Excel. I’ve gotten into using pivot tables for analyzing SharePoint data, so I’ve been having fun pulling different metrics for my customer.

6. Do you have a set process when starting a new project?
Yes, my first step is understanding the end goal and requirements of the project. From there, I work my way backward and build milestones factoring in any risk to ensure the project is completed on time and in line with the requirements.

7. Rapid-Fire Round:

Caffeine or no: As a mom of two, it is my source of survival.

Sweet or savory: I love both and it depends on the day and craving.

Favorite movie: There are so many to choose from, I’m really into my current binge of Brooklyn 99 and Broad City. I also just got up to date on Hacks and ugh, what a brilliantly written series. Hannah Einbinder…my queen.

Favorite place to travel: My family loves to go camping (or glamping as some would say), so I enjoy traveling to different campgrounds and spending time with my favorite people.

Hobbies: Starting DIY home improvement projects and moving to the next before finishing the last lol. The current state of my half-painted kitchen cabinets is a testament. One day I’ll finish them😊

9. Okay, admission time… Who do you think is an amazing writer?
Honestly, I’m not a huge reader. I mostly listen to podcasts while commuting and Comments by Celebs is my go-to for a weekly pop culture update.

Thanks for meeting Amy! As always, stay tuned for next month’s Pepper Talk to meet another member of our team!