About Amy Holdsman
President and CEO, Essential Leadership, LLC

Amy has served in leadership positions in the Greater Philadelphia nonprofit and philanthropic arenas for over two decades. She has extensive experience in strategic planning, change management, leadership coaching, social entrepreneurship, and board development.
Previously, Amy was Executive Director of the White-Williams Scholars and the Charles E. Ellis Grant and Scholarship Fund for more than a decade. During her tenure, she led the organization’s growth and transformation from an individual scholarship granter to a holistic service provider focused on meeting students’ academic, social, and emotional needs.
Amy has also served as Director of Program and Placement for seven years at Leadership Philadelphia where she counseled hundreds of executives from business, government, and the non-profit sector and matched them with non-profit organizations on boards of directors.
Amy is an active member of Impact100, a women’s giving collective and mentors young women on college access through Mighty Writers. She is the past Board Chair of Philabundance, and a past board member of The Farmers Market Trust (now the Food Trust) and Congregation Rodeph Shalom. She proudly serves as the pronouncer for the annual Philadelphia Tribune Spelling Bee which selects a winner to compete in Washington, D.C. at the National Scripps Howard Spelling Bee. Amy lives in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia with her husband and is a fan of the nearby Wissahickon woods where she is walked daily by her three dogs: Raffi (a certified therapy dog), Rosie, and Reece. They have two sons, Greg (22) and Danny (19).
Amy is a Professional Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation (ICF) and holds a Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology through The Flourishing Center. She is also a 21/64 Certified Advisor and She is the recipient of the 2018 Give Back Award at the Baird Women’s Lifestyle Conference.
Amy is Certified by