Amy Samela joined The Village as the VP of Residential Programs, bringing with her nearly two decades of experience in the behavioral health field. She previously served as the Director of Operations at the State’s psychiatric hospital for adolescents, where she oversaw their psychiatric residential treat facility (PRTF) for girls.

“My goal is to support, motivate and grow the residential leadership teams so that they have the skills and passion to continue to serve and support the families in our community. Our best tool in our toolbox is us. We need to build relationships with people so that trust becomes the foundation. We ask our clients and families to take risks—we cannot do that without this foundation.”

What quote best captures your personal philosophy?

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

What would you most want the clients of The Village to know about you?

Your stories of survival, perseverance and determination will continue to inspire me to work hard to improve the systems and support the work that is needed.

What is something unexpected that most people don’t know about you?

I have never eaten pizza.