Meet Dr. Amy Centers
I’m Amy—an Organizational Psychologist, ICF-Certified Executive Coach (PCC), and founder of SmartWorks Lab™, a modern consultancy helping leaders thrive in an AI-powered, digitally saturated world.
For the past 20 years, I’ve helped leaders and organizations navigate complexity, lead with clarity, and build cultures that actually work—for humans. My work blends psychology, neuroscience, behavior change, and a healthy dose of humor to help people thrive in a world that often feels overwhelming and always-on.
I’ve partnered with more than 100 organizations—Fortune 500s, global NGOs, and scaling start-ups—to design leadership development experiences, guide large-scale transformation efforts, and coach executives through reinvention, uncertainty, and growth.
Most recently, I led global change and communication for the World Bank Group’s rollout of a skills-based, AI-powered career development experience. Before that, I served as VP of Client Transformation at Fuel50, guiding enterprise-wide talent mobility strategy.
I founded SmartWorks Lab to shape the future of leadership and work—supporting organizations at the intersection of talent reinvention, AI-human integration, and leadership redesign. I believe high performance shouldn’t come at the expense of well-being, and that clarity is a leadership skill we need now more than ever.
Whether I’m speaking, coaching, or facilitating, I bring grounded insight, practical tools, and a deep belief that meaningful change is possible—even when it’s messy.
Beyond the Bio
I’ve been to all seven continents, taken the polar plunge in both the Arctic and Antarctic, and once got chased by an unhappy baboon while climbing Kilimanjaro. A resilient animal lover, I volunteer my time giving belly rubs to an African porcupine, back rubs to a lemur, and banana peels to a slightly homicidal warthog. I also won a home gym on The Price is Right during COVID—which still counts as my finest athletic achievement.
These moments—curious, ridiculous, and surprisingly grounding—shape how I work: with humor, humility, and a deep respect for what it takes to lead well in wild environments (natural or organizational). I believe leadership, like life, is an adventure—and we’re better when we show up for it fully human.
