About Amy Holdsman

Amy is a trusted leadership coach and philanthropic advisor who guides her clients to explore their values, build on their strengths, and make strategic investments that benefit their communities and the world at large. Her clients have included corporate and non-profit CEOs, social impact visionaries to young professionals, seasoned business executives, and everyday people looking to make positive change in society. She is especially interested in helping next generation of philanthropists and activists who are thinking ahead about their legacy and want to have an impact now.

Amy has served in executive leadership positions in the Greater Philadelphia philanthropic arena for over two decades. She has extensive experience in leadership coaching, nonprofit management and philanthropic investing, strategic planning, change management, social entrepreneurship, and board development.

For five years, Amy served as Executive Director of the Maguire Foundation where she not only oversaw grant-making and administration of over $10 million annually, but also built and executed the founder’s vision for his legacy and philanthropy. She served as coach, counsel, and confidante to turn vision into reality.

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 serves on the Advisory Committee of Our Closet. 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 (20).

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 currently pursuing a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy certification with The American College of Financial Services. She is a Wharton lecturer on Business Communication for Impact. Amy is the recipient of the 2018 Give Back Award at the Baird Women’s Lifestyle Conference.