Meet Amanda Kazzy Cryer | Social Impact Influencer, Filmmaker & Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amanda Kazzy Cryer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda Kazzy, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?

As a social impact influencer and filmmaker, I recognized that the covid pandemic raised a new awareness that we live in a global society facing serious challenges. Climate change, scarcity, and alarming levels of corruption, violence, and disease have had people feeling anxious, frustrated, powerless, and worst of all, divided. I recognized the frustration, overwhelm, and even resignation that started to creep in with myself and others, and then I also noticed that millions of people were really committed to making a difference, but few possessed the tools to have lasting impact. So, I asked myself, what if each of us had the tools to effect significant and lasting change?

While I have been an activist and social impact professional for 15 years, and have coached, mentored and worked with hundreds of people from diverse backgrounds including influencers, leading change makers and emerging changemakers in media, celebrities, community activists, leaders at the United Nations, scientists, philosophers, thought-leaders, TV and Film personalities, Nobel Prize recipients, CEOs, actors, and founders of nonprofits and triple bottom line organizations, my colleagues and I were working on individual projects, instead of as a collective. The pandemic made us realize the critical importance of us coming together to co-create an organization that would really serve emerging changemakers and entrepreneurs, as well as organizations and corporations that wanted to learn how to design, develop and implement social impact projects to maximize their impact and influence – while addressing systemic issues. That is how Global Impact Technology came to be – affectionately known as “Big Change-Makers” (BCM). We are an educational and leadership organization that empowers people to be effective agents of change, here locally in Atlanta, nationally – and globally. We empower youth, Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Baby Boomers, established leaders and emerging changemakers, entrepreneurs, non profits, triple bottom line organizations and corporations, to harness their passion for change, and provide them with the tools they need to make real, lasting change happen. Our methodology – proven in over 68 countries – enables everyday citizens to produce lasting, meaningful results at scale. Our next program will be the first time we are launching in Atlanta specifically.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a young child, my mom, sister and I experienced homelessness and poverty. As a result, from time to time, we lived in women’s shelters and often got our food from the local food bank. My mom was 24, a single mother of a 3- and 5-year-old and had very little (if any) effective support from family at that time. My mom did such an incredible job, with the very little support she had. Later on, I went to live with my dad and when I reached 11 and 12 years of age, I was bullied really badly. Age 13 was a pretty good year for me, but the bullying began again when I was 14 and 15 in 9th grade.

While I didn’t know what the actual terms classism or bullying meant when I was a young child – or even what it was – I did recognize that something was different with me. And I carried that experience with me into my adult life. It gave me a deep sense of wanting to belong, and also a burning desire for dignity, compassion, equity and justice for all, and always wanting to support and advocate for the underdog, the afflicted, exploited and oppressed.

As a Filmmaker, Social Impact Influencer, Consultant and Strategist, I am committed to elevating voices through film and social media and am passionate about media-driven projects that bring awareness to social issues. Having lived and worked in both developed and developing countries, I have been active in co-creating opportunities to solve problems, shift systems, and activate the inner capacity of leaders to create lasting change.

Since 2009, I have been practicing the Conscious Full Spectrum Response framework developed by my mentor Dr. Monica Sharma (former Director of Capacity and Leadership Development at the United Nations) in systems shift language and transformative dialogue in media. The CFSR is a unique response model based on extensive application, which simultaneously in time solves problems, illuminates and shifts systems and creates new patterns sourced from individual inner capacity and transformational leadership. This particular model has generated sustainable results worldwide.

I was the Project Director for United Global Shift, a non-profit that delivers workshops for people engaged in initiatives that make a difference. UGS coaches people on projects that both empower individuals and shift the systems that perpetuate chronic issues such as poverty, discrimination, environmental degradation and war. I coached emerging leaders in project management and strategic planning that addressed systemic issues.

As a filmmaker, my productions have included What They Wanted, What They Got, which sold to Showtime; and the multiple award winning, Luz: The Flower of Evil. From 2009 to 2012, I worked with a cohort of Native American actors, including alumni of the Twilight film series, to bring awareness to the water infrastructure issues negatively impacting Indigenous communities across the country.

I also worked at Roy Lee’s production company Vertigo Entertainment (Doctor Sleep, It, The Departed, The Lego Movie) and served as a producer on the award-winning short film The Lord of Catan starring Fran Kranz (The Cabin in The Woods, Mass) and Amy Acker (Person of Interest, Angel).

I co-founded Global Impact Technology, BIG Change Makers, and 1 Voice World. We develop and co-create educational programs and media that focus on what’s possible when we overcome polarization and division and move towards uniting humanity – recognizing interconnectedness and interdependence. Our latest film, Inside Men, highlights personal stories from people whom the prison system has affected in one way or another, and private industries that view prisons as a solution to their bottom lines and societal challenges. Kate Boccia, President of the National Incarceration Association (NIA); and Kit Cummings, author of The New Convict Code and founder of the Power of Peace Project (POPP) are featured prominently in our film.

I am also directing a film on Davon and Tavon Woods, twin brothers who were born into the foster care system who are committed to transforming that system from the inside out. They have been walking several miles in every state across the country to bring awareness to the current state of the foster care system – and to be a voice – for all children in that system.

I am a conscious activist for ethical eating, prison reform, mental health, addiction, human trafficking, ecocentrism, and people experiencing homelessness and poverty.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If the jazz fest at Piedmont Park was happening, I would definitely take them there. It is a gigantic, beautiful park and the music, food and different types of vendors are amazing. I might then take them to Mac McGee Irish Pub in Decatur for a fun, casual drink later that night. It’s a little out of the city but downtown Decatur is a really great spot and is always pretty lively. You can also sit outside on the grass, and they often have live music right there.

Another day, I would take them to Six Feet Under for lunch and sit on their amazing rooftop patio. Then, in the evening I would take them to the art deco movie theater called the “Tara”, on Cheshire Bridge Rd. I saw the movie Elvis there and it is a fantastic and beautiful little movie theater. I would definitely take them to a Braves game as well. Even if they weren’t huge baseball fans, I feel like they would BECOME a baseball fan after attending an Atlanta Braves game. I’ve never been to a better baseball game in my life. The energy of the people in that stadium is amazing – it’s a ton of fun and one of my top favorite things to do in Atlanta.

And if one of my friends wanted to visit an incredible games and comic book shop, I would take them to Challenges Games on Lawrenceville Highway in Decatur. Tony Cade is the owner and his space is fantastic!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I love this question because it highlights the wonderful fact that we are not alone, we accomplish nothing alone, and we are shaped by a profound and indisputable interdependence. We benefit from each other, and we are also accountable to each other and to the entire web of life.

My life has been an amalgamation of experiences and influences. I’ve seen a lot of suffering, and a lot that inspires me. I’ve been lucky to find people who dedicate their lives to manifesting dignity and equity for all. I’d like to shout out my mentor, Dr. Monica Sharma, who is the former Director of Capacity and Leadership Development at the United Nations and who has led programs both for the UN and her own programs in more than 65 countries. Her burning desire for justice and her Conscious Full Spectrum Response methodology have had an immeasurable impact on my own journey. I’d also like to shout out my business partners Mel Wymore, a passionate change-maker and systems educator with 30 years of leadership experience in
extraordinary community projects and cultural shifts; and Josselyne Herman-Saccio, a personal development leader and master coach who has empowered thousands of people to fulfill on their dreams.

Website: BigChangeMakers.com

Instagram: Kazzy.Reacts

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandakazzycryer

Other: https://linktr.ee/KazzyCryer

Image Credits
Headshot: Dwayne Boyd (Photographer) Behind The Scenes (where I’m behind the camera): Myles Coney (Photographer)