Amanda Schroeder

Amanda Schroeder makes connections and manages initiatives to keep GRA’s operations running smoothly. Her role encompasses leading fundraising and development; overseeing branding and communications; and maintaining strong relationships with GRA’s Trustees, Scholars, startups and supporters.

Amanda also helps GRA create and capitalize on opportunities that advance university research and entrepreneurship in Georgia. Since joining GRA in 2013, she has been key to developing initiatives ranging from equipment sharing across universities to summer lab internships that allow students to experience a first-class research operation.

Under Amanda’s leadership, GRA’s communications have evolved into a cohesive, multi-channel endeavor. By crafting and sharing stories of brilliant scientists and bootstrap startups, she has developed a tightly knit narrative that connects the work of research universities to the economic development and growth of the State of Georgia.

When starting her career at Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), Amanda gained insight into the unique role startup companies play in economic development. She honed her skills by working alongside entrepreneurs, and she was instrumental in developing marketing strategies for several ATDC companies launched around Georgia Tech inventions.

A tenure at AutoTrader.com (now Cox Automotive) followed, during which the company evolved from a scrappy start-up into a major enterprise. At BLiNQ Media, she was a member of the senior management team that led the enterprise to a successful acquisition by The Gannett Company.

Amanda earned an MBA (with emphasis on strategy, marketing, and business development) from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, and a BBA in Marketing from Georgia State University. She lives in Decatur, Georgia, with her husband and two children and stays actively involved in both community and schools.