Fay Sharpe, founder of Fast Forward 15 introduces Amanda Maxwell in the second of her Shero and Hero series.

“I’m delighted to welcome the second of our FF15 guest Shero’s: Amanda Maxwell. Having known her from a young age I’ve been following her progress and we have met at events like WOW’s mass speed mentoring event, celebrating the International day of the girl. It’s great to see her success through collaboration and creativity. Here she tells us a little more about her career and her business Freelance Queens.”

Who is Amanda Maxwell?

“I’m Amanda Maxwell and I’m a director and community manager of women in music network, shesaid.so, I also regularly contribute to panel talks on subjects related to inclusion, representation and equal empowerment within the creative industries.

Alongside this I also manage a London based DJ Ellie Prohan who most recently joined the Apple Music family as one of the voices to The Beats 1 List and host to the “Happy Hour on Foundation FM”. I most recently left Boiler Room as their Open Dance Floors programmer and project manager ensuring the company looked across their platform for intersectionality and social political issues intertwined with music culture.

Freelance Queens

One of things I’m most proud of is setting up a collective for freelance women from music and creative sectors now with over 190 members. It is a place for sharing of job roles, advice, contacts and to amplifying one another.

The collective Freelance Queens was formed to encourage more intersectionality within the freelance world and to encourage more women to not feel obliged to conform to the traditional work place and find the balance they need in their personal and professional development by being their own bosses.

In relation to all work my greatest challenge has been to gain consistent funding and I am now in the process of seeking this in order to pave the way with my work. The aim is to be part of a global movement with authentic hard work and determination. As a woman of colour who is wanting to change to world in authentic work practises, I’ve had to realise I’m not an octopus. I only have so many hands and legs and there is not 48 hours in a day.

The pandemic has made us realise the privileges that have divided us and brought us all back down to a level of understanding and wanting to help one another. This is the way I’ve always tried to be. Hard work, empathy, honesty, perseverance, consistency and patience are not just life’s best ideals to live by but to work by too. I hope that I’m on the road for succeeding my life goals and ambitions.”