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CDS Director of Monroe County, Amanda Andera, Receives Women of Distinction Award
Amanda is a woman whose life and leadership reflect the very best of service, strength, and heart. In May she was recognized with a 2026 New York State Assembly Citation for Women of Distinction, an honor that reflects her extraordinary commitment to community, inclusion, and service.
In her current role as Monroe County Director at the Center for Dispute Settlement, Amanda works every day to build stronger communities through dignity, dialogue, and peaceful conflict resolution... akin to the Business of Peace. She is a leader who believes deeply in the power of people feeling heard, respected, and valued, and she brings that belief to every space she enters.
The county she supports includes 3 of the 5 poorest zip codes in New York State.
Amanda’s path to this work is both global and deeply grounded in purpose. Her professional journey took her to Brussels, Belgium, where she served as Worldwide Sales Operations Manager for Miraclon, bringing strategic leadership, global perspective, and operational excellence to an international business environment. Before that, she spent many years abroad as an operations manager on Kodak’s Olympic Sponsorship team, helping deliver five Olympic Games and numerous other major global sporting events. As part of Kodak’s Corporate Security team, she also contributed to anti-terrorism work, executive protection, and security support for 90 worldwide sites, bringing a high level of discipline, coordination, and readiness to complex global operations. Her career also took her to New York City, where she supported the mission-driven work of Women’s eNews, an organization whose mission is to report the stories of women and girls to create a more equitable world.
But what makes Amanda truly extraordinary is not only what she has accomplished, but what she has chosen to do with her gifts.
She made the courageous decision to abandon the corporate world and devote herself more fully to community service and impact. Since then, she has become a powerful force for inclusion, equity, and belonging across Monroe County. She serves on Brighton’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity Advisory Board, the Budget Review Task Force, serves on the transition team for Brighton’s new Town Supervisor and the Brighton Democratic Committee. She also supported the successful 2025 campaign of Judge Tonia Ettinger, helped form the Rochester, New York Litas Motorcycle Collective, and has generously shared her knowledge and skills to foster construction confidence in other womxn.
Amanda leads with empathy. She serves with humility. And she shows, again and again, that real leadership is not about standing above others, but about lifting others up.
She is a builder of community, a champion of belonging, and a woman whose impact is both meaningful and enduring.
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