Our Story & Team
How Did We Get Here?
When our founder Amy Mosher Berry was just 10 years old, she watched in horror as the Exxon Valdez oil spill destroyed habitats and wildlife. She knew she had to do something to protect our planet.
When her family abruptly moved to East TX at the age of 15, she experienced sexism and racism like never before. She vowed to do her part to build a more compassionate and equitable world.
After college Amy served in Americorps as an environmental educator the year of September 11th. Just two days before that horrific day, Amy had the extraordinary opportunity to meet with renowned anthropologist Jane Goodall who, incredibly, told her, “No matter what’s happening in the world, always follow your heart.”
Following Jane's lead, Amy turned her attention from planning river cleanups to providing spontaneous career and life coaching in the wake of 9/11. Her work landed her a graduate fellowship in Community Development where she convinced her advisors to allow her to develop her concept of Expressive Capital – the missing factor in the Sustainability equation.
In addition to the "Triple-Bottom Line" -- People (Equity Capital), Planet (Environmental Capital), and Profit (Economic Capital) -- Amy asserted that a 4th element, Passion & Purpose (what she coined in 2003 as “Expressive Capital”), was needed for everyday people to feel part of the greater solution.
"People need outlets for creative self-expression to feel connected to and engaged in larger social and environmental movements. Developing our passion & purpose can fuel our belief that we can actually make a difference.” - Amy Mosher Berry, Founder of Visions Internships
After the 2008 financial meltdown, Amy was hired to run a DOL-funded pilot program helping unemployed STEM professionals reinvent themselves in a new economy. The program became a national model and Amy went on to create other innovative programming for jobseekers such as a robust Entrepreneurship program, Volunteer Connections program, Green Careers workshops, and a TV show spotlighting work-ready jobseekers and early-stage entrepreneurs in need of exposure in the marketplace.
Later, as a college professor teaching Urban Studies and Entrepreneurship, Amy developed new offerings to help students gain real-world experience for academic credit through field trips, job shadowing, informational interviewing, and service learning opportunities. She paired her students on projects, proactively recruiting local entrepreneurs and nonprofits that needed marketing, communications, and operational support.
Having taught more than 650 college students over 5 years, Amy encountered an unacceptable number of young people at a loss as to how to gain meaningful real-world experience. Many had no clue what they wanted to do after graduation and worried that their lack of tangible work skills and experience would set them back.
Others were unsure if they even wanted to pursue a career in their chosen field. Most were just focused on completing their degree and hoping it would all work out in the end, but ultimately “freaking out” in their last two semesters - or even after graduation - when time was no longer on their side.
Amy couldn’t stand the thought of one more college graduate returning to their high school barista or babysitter job – now saddled with debilitating debt – just because they failed to put a plan in place. She also needed a better response when people in her professional network would frequently inquire about how to "get good interns." And Visions Internships was born.
Meet the Visions Internships Team
Amy Mosher Berry
Founder & CEO
Amy holds a bold vision for our company, leading programs and business development efforts and creating valuable content and partnerships. Amy is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP)® with a master's degree in Community Development and a B.A. in Environmental Studies/ Spanish. She lives in Massachusetts, USA.
Melanie Weigel
Operations & Launch Strategist
Melanie regularly assists the CEO in tasks large and small – from developing and implementing company growth strategies to making sure marketing emails go out and online ads go up. Melanie lives in Missouri, USA and - when she’s not empowering others to live their best lives - you will probably find her at the beach with her dog.
Tella Opeyemi John
Website Manager & Digital Strategist
Tella helps the company design, build, and manage our website as required with the provision of new contents or identified issues. He is also responsible for SEO activities, email process, research, technical troubleshooting, and integration among systems and team efforts. Tella supports our CEO with growth strategy. He is based in Nigeria.
María ("Mampy") Amparo García
Digital Marketing Lead
Mampy engages the rest of the team in designing and implementing the digital marketing strategy for Visions Internships. She consistently helps our CEO create social media content and strategize on how to increase our reach and impact online. She also designs and schedules posts, lead magnets, and online ads. She is based in Venezuela.
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