Amanda Stone attended Missouri Southern State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. After obtaining her degree, Ms. Stone worked as an English Language Teacher in Poland for nearly two years, before returning home to Southwest Missouri.

Ms. Stone worked as a staff writer, head writer for Joplin Magazine, and weekly columnist at The Joplin Globe, where she was later promoted to Marketing Manager, Community Relations Director and Education Services Coordinator. During her time at the Globe, she worked with a team to oversee the planning, publicity and implementation of the Joplin Globe Spelling Bee, the annual high school writing contest, the All-Area Academic Banquet, the high school Journalism Workshop, and other events for local sponsors and partners.

Before joining Bright Futures Joplin in May 2022, Ms. Stone served as the News and Media Relations Coordinator at Missouri Southern State University, working as a liaison between the university president’s office and key local stakeholders. She also worked closely with the university relations and marketing team to plan internal and external events, media opportunities, and community relations.

Ms. Stone has been an active local volunteer, and has enjoyed serving her community through work at the Carthage Crisis Center, Art Feeds, and as a Golden Apple Awards judge. She is also a member of the Joplin Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Joplin class of 2022.
Ms. Stone lives with her family in Carthage, Missouri and in her free time enjoys gardening, spending time with friends and family both near and far, and tending her backyard chicken flock.