Amelia Schaffner: Generalist tri-sector leader
Like a pebble creating ripples across a still pond, Amelia generates impact in expanding circles. Her superpower lies in building the invisible connections that fuel innovation and transformation.
At Emory University, Amelia was tasked with creating a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation within the business school.
There was no playbook. No guidelines. No clear destination.
This challenge was ideal for Amelia’s whitespace problem-solving approach.
She embarked with an open mind, starting with listening to ideas from the business school students, leadership, and alumni. Recognizing untapped potential, she expanded her thinking to encompass the broader university, local groups, and even the region, building relationships in increasingly larger circles.
She spent countless hours engaging in conversations across the city with founders, investors, incubators, and accelerators. She even joined the board of Startup Atlanta.
Over time, she identified opportunities and brought together the right people as partners to co-create solutions.
The results were beautifully symbiotic:
Founders and VCs invested in the school - speaking to students and sharing their experience
Students went to work starting 100+ startups
The university brought in 20+ entrepreneurs, investors, or innovators in residence
The student body engaged as fellows of the program
A new startup accelerator was born: Emory Startup Launch | Emory University Goizueta Business School
A new fund supporting under-represented founders was launched: Peachtree Minority Venture Fund | Emory University Goizueta Business School
The destination evolved in real-time and ultimately she co-founded the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, with generous funding from the The Goizueta Foundation, creating a long-lasting resource for the university and the region.
None of this would have been possible without Amelia’s generalist tendency to listen broadly and say ‘tell me more’ when she meets someone who might only be tangentially related to her current work. She knows those relationships provide shortcuts in the future and is willing to make the up-front investment.
Her advice to generalists:
I think of a generalist much like a photographer (which I am): we are able to both zoom out (macro, strategic view of the world) and zoom in (micro, detail view of the world). It is not an "either/or" approach, rather than an "and" approach. We carry different "lenses" we use and are rich with experience from "viewing" all sorts of landscapes, people, and situations.
Meet Amelia Schaffner, MS
Strategic Thinker | Innovator & Creative | Question-Asker | Change-maker | Artist
She elegantly solves problems that span business and society.
With a harmonious blend of left-brain and right-brain capabilities, she merges the analytical mind with creative imagination. Amelia's generalist nature is evident in her extensive work in innovation leadership, strategy, and ecosystem connectivity across the United States and Europe.
Her diverse experiences span corporate, non-profit, consulting, and higher-education sectors, encompassing both global and local contexts. Amelia spent a large part of her career at global consulting firm, Accenture, where she managed initiatives ranging from innovation to growth strategy to culture change, often working with large clients and organizations, including the World Economic Forum.
Starting this summer, her clients and partners at Lexicon Strategies will benefit from her years of relationship building as she embarks on her next career adventure in Europe, part of an ecosystem attraction effort in Helsinki: the 90 Day Finn Programme!
Join us in Breaking the Mold: Generalists Who Thrive in a Specialist's World as we explore real-life examples of generalists connecting dots, innovating, and solving problems.
PS. Amelia is a talented artist - you can find some of her work here!