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Profile Story Katherine Olivieri November 9, 2018
Amy Sharp: Her Dream Job as a Social Justice Warrior
Down a small narrow hallway, the sounds of students chatting away about their newest
adventure from the night before, the new Ariana Grande song playing in the distance and many
footsteps from people passing in the hall fills the offices. Amy Sharp sits at her almost antique,
very used desk, looks up and smiles as she begins her work day.
The women’s center did not always have the same vibrant, fun energy it does today.
Students of all walks of life now have a welcoming and exciting space on a very large college
campus. With a new paint job and her humorous, ready to say yes, attitude Amy transformed the
old, underfunded program.
Amy Sharp is the director of the women’s center and cougar safe rides at the Washington
State University (WSU) Pullman campus. She has worked at the women’s center for over a year
and recently reinstated the cougar safe rides program. The women’s center is a resource for all
students of all genders with an emphasis on women, according to the website. Cougar safe rides,
formerly known as women’s transit, is a program for students to receive a free, safe ride when
they are out late at night.
As director, her primary role is to make connections across campus, make sure all voices
are heard and bring a feminist lens to the university, she said.
“I make sure things aren’t too male heavy… I just want to be that social justice warrior,”
said Amy.
Since Amy started, more students’ hangout in the women’s center and have made use of
all the spaces available, she said. There is the lavender room, a lactation space, a bright yellow
study room, a library, which Amy hopes to turn into a knowledge room, and a living room.
“The center is less of a dentist office and more people want to hang out,” said Amy.
Amy and her team have also transformed the cougar safe rides program. A year ago they
were doing test runs with only one car. “They were so excited when they first got six calls in one
night,” said Amy, “now in one evening, there are 178 phone calls.”
Amy is constantly trying to improve the center to provide a resource and a space for
students to feel safe and empowered. Her team rearranged the office spaces to create a more
welcoming and comfortable environment. Most of the equipment and the space is old and very
used, however Amy sees the obstacles as a challenge to do better, said Jennifer Murray, the
program coordinator at the women’s center.
“I work with her, not for her. Even though she’s my supervisor, we’re a team,” said
Jennifer.
Jennifer said Amy has strong visions and fully trusts her coworkers. Before she was
director, the center lacked a leader like her and often did not have concepts on how to improve or
a plan for the future, she said.
New ideas and improvements start with what the group would think is fun and exciting,
instead of what is practical.
“Her instinct whenever we have a nutty idea is to say yes,” said Jennifer.
Amy strives to bridge the gaps with executive policy 15, regarding sexual assault and
harassment. She said she hopes the center will become a confidential space for students to report
these instances. She said she recognizes that this cannot change overnight but hopes to make this
a reality.
“I don’t think we’re doing the best and it is frustrating,” said Amy, “I plan on making it
easier for students.”
Amy was raised by her adoptive, single mother in a supportive community. In the 1980’s,
it was considered taboo for a single woman to adopt, especially kids of diverse ethnic
backgrounds, Amy said. Growing up in this environment, Amy was able to see a strong,
successful woman right before her little brown eyes. Her mother’s acceptance and progressive
beliefs allowed Amy to always be herself and later understand why equity issues are important to
her, she said.
“She was going to be a mother to two brown girls,” said Amy, “the sheer will of her
doing this was kind of unheard of.”
Amy described her community growing up as supportive, and they always allowed her to
practice her voice and spread her wings. All of this came at a price for her when in graduate
school she became more aware of identity issues. She then began to understand what it meant to
be Latina and how that would play a role throughout her life.
“I looked a lot different than others,” said Amy.
Amy recalled going to listen to feminist speakers, and her passion for equality and
feminism grew. She has a feministic lens and wants to provide a space for students to find their
own lens, voice and vocabulary, she said.
Amy’s involvement not only runs deep within the women’s center and cougar safe rides,
but also with the Commission on the Status of Women, her task force for parenting/pregnant
students and her service on the Gender Inclusion and Transgender Support Working Group, said
Mathew Jeffries, the director of gender identity/expression and sexual orientation resource center
at WSU. Her passion for this line of work is unwavering and even when it can become
overwhelming, she will always do her best to help the students, said Mathew.
“Because this work can be rather serious, and difficult, Amy is always there to make me
laugh, which is so important to me,” said Mathew.
Photo: Amy Sharp
Sources:
Amy Sharp- Director of the Women’s Center [email protected]
Jennifer Murray- Program Coordinator of Women’s [email protected]
Mathew Jeffries- Director of Gender Identity/Expression and Sexual Orientation Resource [email protected]
Website: https://women.wsu.edu/resources/