Amanda Severin

MPA Fellows, Class of 2027

Deputy Director, Williams-Mystic: The Coastal and Ocean Studies Program of Williams College & Mystic Seaport

Amanda Severin has spent two decades serving communities in nationally recognized cultural and educational institutions. Currently, she serves as deputy director of Williams-Mystic: the Coastal & Ocean Studies Program of Williams College and Mystic Seaport, where she manages financial administration, operations, and strategic advancement to support vital undergraduate education and research. In a prior role there, she helped the program complete its first capital campaign and building project.

Previously, Amanda spent over a decade as artistic administrator of the Boston Pops Orchestra, producing more than 80 concerts a year at Symphony Hall and across the country, including the annual Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular national television show, three albums and many live-streamed and internet concerts. She is adept at contract management, intellectual property concerns and music licensing. Among countless highlights at the Pops were launching the orchestra’s successful Sensory Friendly concerts and co-founding the BSO’s employee-led cultural equity brown bag discussion group.
Amanda holds a BA in Classical Civilizations and American Studies, sings with a local hospice choir (but also loves singing Gospel), enjoys fiber arts, yoga, and has a special love for container ships and cheese.

Skilled at listening to develop solutions, resource coordination, and big-picture thinking, Amanda is passionate about connecting people to meaningful experiences and each other. She looks forward to developing her management skills in the MPA Fellows program in order to foster impactful non-profits and vibrant cultural institutions that bring “net good” into the world.