Career Journey
Amanda Richline Overcomes Addiction
and Takes on a Lead Role with Unshattered
February 2021
Amanda Richline
(Photo Courtesy: Unshattered)
(Photo Courtesy: Unshattered)
According to Unshattered, a Dutchess County-based nonprofit whose mission is to end relapse through job training and employment for women overcoming addiction, 72,000 Americans die annually from an overdose. Of those who recover, 60 to 80 percent relapse.
Yet, since Unshattered began its full-time job program for women in recovery in 2016, 100 percent of its team, who make handbags and accessories from upcycled materials, continues to remain sober.
Yet, since Unshattered began its full-time job program for women in recovery in 2016, 100 percent of its team, who make handbags and accessories from upcycled materials, continues to remain sober.
Karen Maserjian Shan, contributor, spoke with Amanda Richline, a Poughkeepsie, NY resident and mom of three, about moving from addiction to sobriety, her position as Unshattered’s Product Manager and Creative Lead, and how she’s helping others find their footing.
What were your early aspirations?
I wanted to be a lawyer when I was really young and got good grades. Then I started hanging out with kids who drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes and weed, and I was skipping school. I ended up going to a tech school for culinary art [in Pennsylvania, where I’m from from]. I’m certified in professional baking; so, since then, I always wanted to own my own bakery.
What were your plans after graduating?
I planned on going to a culinary college, but I got pregnant with my oldest daughter. I [went for a while] to community college, but I was a self-proclaimed party girl. I just liked to drink, and I liked to party at that point.
It sounds like you had a lot going on. How did you manage?
I’d move out and find my own place, and then I would have to move back [home] because I was just not responsible. I worked for a resort where I was a baker. I started there when I was 14 in the dish room, and then I started on the line while I was going to culinary school. It gave me a goal.
Around that time, I got into a couple of pretty bad car accidents and ended up getting addicted to pain killers which led to a heroin addiction. It really messed me up for the better part of a decade. I also had another child. I ended up losing custody of my daughters. My parents took my older one, and my younger one stayed with her father. I was in and out of rehabs; all of that.
I wanted to be a lawyer when I was really young and got good grades. Then I started hanging out with kids who drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes and weed, and I was skipping school. I ended up going to a tech school for culinary art [in Pennsylvania, where I’m from from]. I’m certified in professional baking; so, since then, I always wanted to own my own bakery.
What were your plans after graduating?
I planned on going to a culinary college, but I got pregnant with my oldest daughter. I [went for a while] to community college, but I was a self-proclaimed party girl. I just liked to drink, and I liked to party at that point.
It sounds like you had a lot going on. How did you manage?
I’d move out and find my own place, and then I would have to move back [home] because I was just not responsible. I worked for a resort where I was a baker. I started there when I was 14 in the dish room, and then I started on the line while I was going to culinary school. It gave me a goal.
Around that time, I got into a couple of pretty bad car accidents and ended up getting addicted to pain killers which led to a heroin addiction. It really messed me up for the better part of a decade. I also had another child. I ended up losing custody of my daughters. My parents took my older one, and my younger one stayed with her father. I was in and out of rehabs; all of that.
Creating Handbags and Accessories Made from Recycled Materials
Left to Right: Unshattered’s Amanda Richline, Kelly Lyndgaard, Savana Aragon & Jenn Kennedy (Photo Credit: Michael Nelson) |
How did you overcome your addiction and connect with Unshattered?
I went through a year-long recovery program. There was a shop [Unshattered] where you [received training] while you were in the program. I really liked it. I loved [the creativity of] decorating cakes, and so it really came natural to me - the sewing. I loved [Unshattered’s] mission. I completed the recovery program in 2018. After the program, I did a 10-week apprenticeship with Unshattered, and then I was hired full-time. I started as a seamstress making minimum wage. I was grateful to have a job right after I got out of the program. I didn’t want to go back to the same place. Every time I tried to do that, I failed. I wanted a new start. What obstacles have you faced moving forward? I went through the Leadership Dutchess program, and I’ve gone to different events with Unshattered or Kelly [Kelly Lyndgaard, Founder/CEO of Unshattered]. |
I felt the imposter syndrome, like I didn’t belong or didn’t have a right to be at the table - all these normal things that people feel, the insecurities and self-doubt. I just kept doing things even though I was afraid. I think [my experience] with drugs and alcohol was because I was afraid and insecure, and it was a way to mask my feelings.
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What have been your career highlights so far?
I was able to share my story of overcoming adversity with the Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Services, ADM Brett P. Giroir, and with the Special Assistant to the President of the United States in Washington, D.C.* I also shared the amazing work that our organization is doing for all of the women at Unshattered. I have spoken at The Business Council of New York State in this same capacity and at two events hosted by Senator Sue Serino. I really enjoy doing these types of things. Even though it is really terrifying, it does give me more confidence afterwards. I like being able to share my journey because a lot of people don’t make it out, so [I’m glad] to share that there’s hope and that this organization is helping and changing the lives of people who might not have been able to make it [otherwise]. We need more organizations like this. In 2018, Amanda Richline met with the Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Services, ADM Brett P. Giroir, and other government officials in Washington, D.C. to talk about her recovery from addiction and discuss the opioid epidemic. Leaders from other successful programs, such as Hoving Home were in attendance. |
Washington D.C.: (Left to Right) Kelly Lyndgaard, Emily Raitt, ADM Brett P. Giroir, Beth Greco, Chelsea Strothoff, & Amanda Richline
(Photo Courtesy: Unshattered) |
Amanda Richline (fourth from left) uses skills she learned through the Leadership Dutchess program to lead team building exercises
with her colleagues at Unshattered (Photo Courtesy: Unshattered) |
How has working with Unshattered affected your life?
I’m a convicted felon. I’d gotten into some trouble when I was an addict, and there are not a lot of people who would have given me a chance like this. But to have that chance…to have somebody say that they believe in me? Well, I wanted to prove that [Kelly] made a good choice in hiring me, so I worked hard from day one. I wanted to succeed. It has been such an amazing organization to be a part of. I’ve had stability for the past three years. I was able to get my own apartment and a car. I now have financial independence, and I’m able to provide for my children. I have custody back. They spend weeks with me at my place, and I go to Pennsylvania frequently to see them. Since starting here, I have been promoted three times. I have come so far in such a short period of time. It’s giving me hope. As the creative lead and the product manager, I oversee a lot of the day-to-day operations, and I see the people who are coming in - to be able to give back gives me more of a sense of purpose. |
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With what do you credit your successes?
I definitely think it’s having a community and having a purpose. Removing myself from the area that I was from - drugs and alcohol surrounded me - [has helped]. I’m able to be in a different area with a community of like-minded women who all are working toward a similar goal. Working here and knowing that you’re giving hope to somebody else who’s still struggling – that encourages me every day. What are your future goals? I’d like to be a CEO. I don’t know if it’ll be here, but maybe. And I’d like to be a business owner. I don’t know if it’ll be a bakery, but I’d definitely like to be a business owner. I like the business model of Unshattered. Even if I’d be able to do the same thing for people who are struggling, coming out of programs, or doing the work of recovery, I like the idea of doing that. I am going to school for business administration, so we’ll see what happens. |
“Today, in my sobriety, even though I’m afraid or I feel that self-doubt, I just continue to do things anyway. When I’m asked to do something, I say, 'yes.' This helps me become more confident, and I feel like it’s been building me up. I’m able to face things, even though they’re scary.” ~ Amanda Richline |
Do you have any advice for women who are struggling to find their footing?
Keep climbing until you do.
Where do you find sanctuary?
I find sanctuary surrounded by my loved ones, especially my kids. To have all three of them...it just fills my heart. And also, working out. I always make time for both of those things.
Keep climbing until you do.
Where do you find sanctuary?
I find sanctuary surrounded by my loved ones, especially my kids. To have all three of them...it just fills my heart. And also, working out. I always make time for both of those things.
Karen Shan is an award-winning writer who has enjoyed sharing news, insights and trends through her articles for Professional Office Design, Interior Design, the Poughkeepsie Journal, the Beacon Dispatch, Hudson Valley magazine and Hudson Valley Parent, where she also was the magazine’s editor. She is a regular contributor for Sanctuary.
