Check Out Amy Harris’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Harris

Hi Amy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I got started with Achilles in 2012 when the Nashville Chapter began. I had been an avid runner and with a background in special ed/ pediatric rehabilitation, I have a daughter who has spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and she was also wanting to get involved. Achilles seemed like a great fit for both of us and a wonderful opportunity to participate in sports/ fitness activity together. We are going on 13 years now and love it as much now as we did in the beginning!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Overall, yes it has been a smooth road. I started out as a guide for the Nashville Achilles Chapter, at the same time as my youngest daughter who has cerebral palsy started as an Achilles athlete. I moved in to the Assistant Director position, and a few years later took over as Executive Director, a role I have been in for the past seven + years. My daughter, Lizzy, is the Assistant Director and together we run the non-profit organization (well together with amazing volunteers, a supportive and active board, great communication and support from our NY headquarters, incredible athletes of all ages and abilities, family support, and great community involvement). I can’t really say there have been huge struggles, we had such a strong foundation to grow from thanks to the founders of our Nashville Chapter, Sarah Hart and Melanie Yappen.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I retired from my 35 year career in Special Education/ Pediatric Rehabilitation in 2020 in order to bring my mother out of the skilled nursing center where she resided for 11 years. My mom had severe Alzheimer’s and while we loved the facility she lived in and it was in my same neighborhood, during Covid we could not visit her. So along with my family we made the decision to move her out of the center and provide round the clock care for her in a condo next door to mine. As much as I loved my work in education, it was an easy decision to make and one I never looked back on. Having the next few years helping mom and organizing/ managing her care became my job. I was so grateful to still have my work with Achilles Nashville as it kept me connected to working with people with disabilities and kept me active physically and active int eh community. I think something that sets me apart is my passion for what I do…I have always loved working and loved all my roles in inclusive environments and working with people. I believe in the power of a team and in good communication with your teams. I believe strongly in meeting people where they are, accepting where they are, and valuing the individual.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t know if it’s luck or being in the right place when opportunities arise but I have landed roles that I have loved. From my early days as the Director of the Susan Gray School at Vanderbilt to my role at Easter Seals as Pediatric Rehabilitation Director, to my last position before I retired at Bright Horizons (HCA), each job allowed me to learn and grow in my career and to learn more about myself personally. Maybe it was luck that these roles also allowed me to have my girls so involved, whether being enrolled in the programs I ran (e.g. peer model, student with disability, therapy services) or being able to be on site where I was after school, etc. They grew up around a diverse population and learned early on to appreciate differences in people and to understand that we are more alike than different.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://achillesnashville.org
• Instagram: @achillesnashville
• Facebook: Achilles International-Nashville