Staff spotlight: Amy Fields
Early life
Amy was born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin but the family moved shortly after to Commerce, Texas so her father could pursue a PhD in Instructional Design. “I had a southern accent as a child! Which was probably better than my Midwestern accent later in life,” she joked. After graduation, her father got a job offer to teach at St. Cloud State University (SCSU), and the family relocated to Minnesota.
Education
A lifelong learner, Amy holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, human relations, and psychology from SCSU, an associate degree in paralegal studies from Inver Hills College in Minnesota, and a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Washington. She also earned a certificate in narrative non-fiction writing from the UW. “Thanks to tuition exemptions and supportive employers, I was able to earn all my degrees and certificate without accumulating any student debt,” she said.
Travel
Amy’s love for travel started at a young age. “I caught the travel bug early from my parents. We took family trips all over the U.S., and when my parents later became European travel guides, my brother and I joined them on some of those trips. During college, I spent a semester studying abroad in London and also spent over a month backpacking across Europe. After college I returned to London on a work visa and continued traveling, mostly through Eastern Europe.”
She’s been to 23 countries so far. Some of her favorites include Australia, Czech Republic, Iceland and Switzerland.
Heading west
In the summer of 1996, Amy moved to Seattle from Minneapolis, having survived the prior winter’s ice storm that left her car frozen to the ground for a week. While she often returns to the Midwest, she’s never regretted the move.
“Relocating to Seattle felt like coming home, even though I had never visited before, didn’t have a job lined up, and had nothing to my name except what could fit in my Geo Prizm— which struggled to make it up hills!”
University of Washington
Amy celebrated 25 years at the University of Washington (all 25 in the Department of Medicine!) on May 15. She started as a temporary administrative assistant and is currently director of communications.
She is also a proud member of the department’s Gender Equity Council and one of only two founding members who have remained since its inception in 2020. She has served as chair of the outreach and visibility subcommittee and is currently co-chair of the awards committee.
“Before joining the UW, I’d never stayed at a job for more than four years,” she said. “While it is surprising to me that I’ve stayed so long, it’s also a testament to the UW, and particularly the Department of Medicine. I've received incredible support and have had the chance to grow in my career, taking on several diverse roles within the same department. I believe in the people and the missions, and I'm thankful to be part of such a great organization. It's a fantastic place to work, with plenty of opportunities for growth.”
Her history in the department has been marked by numerous milestone projects.
“Because Amy is a true visionary, she has made numerous contributions to the DOM over her tenure, including in records management, website design and social media platforms, as well as editor in chief of several key publications for DOM and all major communications on behalf of the chair and other department leadership,” said Amy's former supervisor, Karen Svendsen who retired in 2021. “She is an invaluable employee and a wonderful person. She makes working so much fun.”
Communications and web services team
She is proud of the growth and achievements of her program and team. “When I first took on the communications role for the department, I was a team of one for several years. Eventually I was able to hire a part-time web developer and together we built the first iteration of our web framework, allowing us to establish a unified voice and online presence across the department and divisions", Amy said.
“Now we are a team of 5 (3 web developers and 2 communications staff) and we manage 40+ websites and intranets, 5 social media accounts, and an innovative, centralized news site.”
Members of the communications team shared their appreciation for Amy's support and leadership.
"Amy is an invaluable mentor and leader for our team; she takes extra care to make sure we are valued as people and colleagues and ensures we are always supported along the way," said Wil Samson, manager of web services.
“Amy is a wonderful leader for our communications team,” said Mackenzie Keyse, communications specialist. “She not only excels at what she does but also creates a positive, collaborative environment that makes coming to work genuinely enjoyable.”
Personal Life
Amy is married with two adult stepchildren and a cat, Dot, named after her late grandmother Dorothy (“Dot”). She and her husband, a native Seattleite, got married on the Olympic Peninsula (Lake Crescent) and return each summer to visit. She loves reading, traveling, kickboxing, cats, and comedy shows.
