An Erie Reader "40 Under 40" honoree. President of Young Erie Professionals. Community Leader for city highlight Radius CoWork. It's pretty obvious why Amanda Duncan is the perfect guest to discuss Erie's rising profile with us. Stick around for discussion on all her endeavors, plus her recent Erie Homecoming panel and adventures with Italian food.
Sponsored by: Erie Regional Chamber & Growth Partnership
Music: Kevin Macleod’s "pamgaea" available via Creative Commons Attribution-International 4.0. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, No changes were made.
Music by audionautix.com. Audionautix's "Roboskater" by Jason Shaw available via Creative Commons Attribution-International 4.0. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, No changes were made.
Transcript
AMANDA DUNCAN: I really love how connected everybody is here and that, really, we all kind of share this united mission of wanting what's best for Erie and helping anybody who's really trying to make a go of it here in our community in any way that we can.
NARRATOR: That's Amanda Duncan president of Young Erie Professionals and community leader for Downtown Erie's Radius CoWork. She's the newest guest on "Buzz Generated," a show that introduces listeners to businesses and community leaders to collaborate with the Northwest Pennsylvania Innovation Beehive Network. Through our conversation, you'll learn about Amanda's experience organizing a panel at Erie Homecoming, the recent two-day event which celebrates economic development in the region.
Then she examines how peer mentorship, developing connections, and inspiring women plays a key role at her endeavors, Young Erie Professionals, Radius CoWork, and the Athena Circle of Trust. Finally, the origin of the 40 under 40 experience is revealed as Amanda explains how the Young Erie Professionals and Erie Reader came up with the event.
Join host Tony Peyronel, the executive director of entrepreneurial development for Edinburgh's Center for Branding and Strategic Communication, as he sits down with our guest. Together, let's discover what the buzz is all about.
TONY PEYRONEL: We're joined on the podcast today by Amanda Duncan, president of Young Erie Professionals and community leader of Radius CoWork. Amanda, it's a pleasure to have you on the program. And welcome.
AMANDA DUNCAN: Thanks for having me here, Tony.
TONY PEYRONEL: It's funny, I was thinking that if we were recording this show maybe a month ago, I would probably be saying, it's nice to meet you. But since we've crossed paths multiple times over these last few weeks, I'll say, it's nice to see you again.
AMANDA DUNCAN: It's great to see you again.
TONY PEYRONEL: We first met at a lunch and learn at Radius back in September, where the directors of each of the beehives in the Northwest PA Innovation Beehive Network were presenting. Then our paths crossed again earlier this month at Erie Homecoming, which is organized by the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, who are also the sponsors of this podcast. So let's start our conversation with a look at that most recent event, where in your role as president of Young Erie professionals, you were asked to moderate a panel of young leaders.
What do you think of the concept of Erie Homecoming in general? And what did you specifically learn from talking with your fellow panelists?
AMANDA DUNCAN: What I really love about homecoming is it gives everyone in Erie an opportunity to kind of-- as my colleague Jordan, who's the director of the Fire Accelerator-- get a peek behind the curtain. So for those of us who work in the economic development world here in Erie County, we're constantly discussing what's going on, sharing with one another what we're doing to support workforce development and economic development efforts. But a lot of people kind of don't get to see that on a day to day.
So it's two days just packed with really an overview of all the investments that's happening in the county and for people to get a really intimate look into the major players and what they can look forward to in the next two to five years that we'll be developing here in the city of Erie and surrounding communities.
TONY PEYRONEL: And what about the panel? Were you involved in inviting the panelists? Refresh my memory on who they were. It was a great discussion.
AMANDA DUNCAN: So this year with the topic of back to the future, I really wanted to kind of focus on the future-facing look at what the young professional workforce will look like in Erie. So I invited three people within the community who have chosen to move to Erie. They didn't have any connections here prior to it.
So the panel consisted of Armando Reyes, who is the owner of Lake Erie Woodworks, absolutely beautiful work. He's from Chicago. Dr. Sherez Mohammed, who is an assistant professor at Mercyhurst, and she's from Miami. And then Niken Astari Carpenter, who is the New American Liaison for Mayor Schember's-- the city government. And she's from Indonesia.
So all these people have come to Erie. And I think they bring such a unique perspective to where Erie is now and where Erie can go. And why I love talking to people who have moved here is because they have such a different take on things. I think a lot of times for those of us who have lived in Erie our whole lives, are from here, we can get a little bit preoccupied with things that have happened in the past and what we've lost, what has changed.
But for folks who are new to this community, they only see Erie for what it is and what it can be. So I love getting their take on what are some of the opportunities and strengths of our community. And then what are some gaps or weaknesses that we need to address in order to make this a more welcoming place for other young people to relocate here?
TONY PEYRONEL: Right. Right. I mean, I congratulate you on that because I think it was a really balanced-- it was a really representative panel. And I enjoyed the conversation. It's funny, when I was in the lobby of the Bayfront coming out, I passed Armando. And I said to him, hey, man, really enjoyed your comments on the panel. And his response to me was, really enjoy the podcast.
AMANDA DUNCAN: Oh, nice.
TONY PEYRONEL: I was like, oh, wow. I didn't even think the podcast or I would be on Armando's radar. But I thought that was cool. I was quick to share that with Chris.
AMANDA DUNCAN: That guy is so in tune with everything happening. I mean, if you want to look at somebody who's really tapped into all the resources for entrepreneurs in Erie, he's the guy.
TONY PEYRONEL: Well, that's proof. Because as much as I love the podcast and love doing it, it's not like we have national or even strong regional acclaim. And so I'm pleased that he is apparently a regular listener.
You'd also said you deliberately selected those panelists because they have no ties to Erie. You do. You grew up in Erie, then, as we talked about, worked for a number of years in Pittsburgh developing and managing programs focused on young adult development. And when I say we talked about it, Amanda and I were talking about it before we went live here and our mutual respect for Pittsburgh rock icon Donnie Iris, which was definitive proof to me that Amanda doesn't make the Pittsburgh part of her bio up. She really did live and work there because she knows all about Donnie.
But what I want to know from you, Amanda, is what brought you back. And what do you include in your pitch to recruit other young leaders to Northwest Pennsylvania?
AMANDA DUNCAN: Right. So for me, my husband is from Pittsburgh. I went to the University of Pittsburgh both for my undergraduate and master's degree. And I really loved living down there when we were younger.
And then I had kids. And life became much more complicated and difficult. And I realized that I was spending hours a day in a car commuting. My children were spending 12 plus hours a day in daycare while I worked just to-- my husband and I worked to support our family.
And we weren't really able to kind of enjoy life and enjoy parenthood. I had waited my entire life to become a mom. And then I barely ever saw my kids.
And we were getting to the point where our oldest was getting near school age. And we wanted to settle down in a home. We wanted to buy. And that was out of reach for us in Pittsburgh.
We started looking. And we had gotten so far north on the map that I said, why don't we just look at Erie? My family's there. I have a huge, very large Italian family. They are all still here.
TONY PEYRONEL: I heard that. We might get to that later.
AMANDA DUNCAN: Yeah. And we would have all this support. It's really affordable to live up here. I really missed the water, too. I was surprised at how much I miss the lake when I moved away.
And I had always kind of missed Erie. I made it a point to come and visit at least once a month. And it just seemed natural. And the pros of moving to Erie just really outweighed the cons.
And so we made the move in 2017. And it was such a great time to move back to Erie because there was this shift in leadership in the city. There was a lot of economic development activity starting to happen. We saw the foundation of EDDC coming to downtown Erie. We saw all these investment dollars pouring in.
And it was just kind of like the perfect storm of things to come and happen and a great time for us to move back here. And really as far as the pitch for other folks to come up here, I think a lot of times they just have to see it first. So when I told people I was moving back home, the kind of immediate reaction was, why? Why would you move to Erie? It's so snowy.
I'm like, you know what, Pittsburgh has snow too. And it's ugly down here. It's really pretty up there.
Most of the country gets snow, right? We deal with it. But there is a great work-life balance up here, an affordable cost of living, wonderful natural assets, and a really amazing community where if you have the desire to be involved, people will give you opportunities to speak into the future of our community. And I really value that.
TONY PEYRONEL: That's a great point. That's a great point. Earlier I mentioned your involvement with Radius CoWork. How important is it for Erie to have a vibrant coworking community, especially when it comes to supporting young professionals and new business owners?
AMANDA DUNCAN: So having a coworking space is absolutely essential to our entrepreneurial ecosystem. In any community, you need coworking spaces because they provide an equitable space for entrepreneurs and small business owners to get their start. The model of our membership really gives folks an opportunity to enter wherever they're at in their journey, plug into all the resources, not only of the physical space but of the community there and all the networks that they can plug into, the connections they can make to other resources, like the Beehive, by becoming involved in something like a coworking space, and then an opportunity to grow and evolve as your business grows and evolves.
So it's a scalable growth. You can join Radius at $25 a month to begin with. And then as your business grows and develops, you can get your own private office. You can get a team room as you start to hire employees. And it helps people bridge that gap between when you're just starting out and when you're really starting to get ready to make an investment in real estate.
We're also purposely located in an opportunity zone in keystone investment zone. So it provides businesses an opportunity to get right down in there in Downtown Erie and take advantage of these tax incentive programs and grow much more quickly. So all these components kind of come together to provide business is a way to really keep their operational costs low, reinvest all that money back into their business, grow faster, and grow smarter because they're doing it with others rather than doing it in a silo by themselves.
TONY PEYRONEL: As community leader at Radius, what are your individual roles and responsibilities?
AMANDA DUNCAN: So a lot of it is relationship management-- as new members join, making sure that they're connecting with other members in the space, and then understanding each member's individual needs and connecting them with the resources that they'll need to be successful. So we have-- a pretty good portion of our membership as remote workers, knowledge workers. A lot of those people might be the only employee from their company in the city of Erie.
Radius gives them coworkers, people that they can go have lunch with, get a drink with after work, hang out with in the break room and have conversations and relationships with, which are so important to having kind of that healthy social life and sense of community. For our entrepreneurs and small business owners, they're able to really take advantage of being in this network with folks with all different kinds of skills and abilities. So say you're starting a small business and you're just at the beginning stages, there's so much that you need in order to be successful.
You're going to need an accountant. You're going to need somebody maybe who can help you with HR. You're going to need legal help to get your contracts and file your LLC. You're going to need some marketing advice.
How do you build a good website that folks can find your business at? That's a lot to figure out for one person. If you're doing that in a Panera or in your garage, you're going to get frustrated and be much more likely to quit. If you do it in a coworking space where all of those resources are surrounding you and you can just bop from desk to desk, find the help that you need, you're going to grow quickly. You're going to grow smartly. And you're going to be much more likely to succeed.
NARRATOR: This episode of Buzz Generated is sponsored by the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, the voice of the business community in the Erie region. The Chamber provides advocacy and access to people, education, and information so that businesses have the leadership, resources, and expertise needed for continued prosperity throughout the region. Schedule a time to meet with a business action team and learn more about how the chamber can help. Or visit the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership online at www.eriepa.com.
The growth of our vibrant community in Erie, PA depends on a dynamic business environment. The Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership aims to provide just that. Let's get back to the episode.
TONY PEYRONEL: I know young Erie professionals-- segueing here a bit-- work with Chris Lantinen, who's the digital media coordinator here at our Edinboro Beehive, to transform the organization's fireside chats into more of a podcast format. So in that sense, Young Erie Professionals is a former Beehive client. Both from that experience and in more general terms, what do you think the Northwest PA Innovation Beehive Network has brought to the entrepreneurial ecosphere of Northwest PA?
AMANDA DUNCAN: I think just the existence of the Beehive is such a strength in this community. It's so unique. To see that kind of level of collaboration between universities and between organizations, I really love how connected everybody is here and that, really, we all kind of share this united mission of wanting what's best for Erie and helping anybody who's really trying to make a go of it here in our community in any way that we can.
And there's no gatekeepers here. We are willing to connect people with anybody they need. So if they come to me in any capacity-- and I know that you guys out here at Edinboro can help them-- I'm going to pass them along, right? And you can do that with Gannon, you can do it with Mercyhurst, you can do it with Behrend, and the library, and all these other organizations in the community that are working together.
I have not seen that anywhere else. I certainly didn't experience that in Pittsburgh, which is a much larger city and much harder to navigate. So I can imagine the difficulties for somebody who is trying to start a small business. With Erie, we have so many resources for people. So there's really no excuse not to be successful as long as you kind of plug in and nowhere to go and who to ask.
TONY PEYRONEL: I mentioned Chris Lantinen. And Chris also produces this podcast with help from Tommy Taylor, our graduate assistant. And if I'm not mistaken, you and Chris were also both part of the Erie Reader's 2020 Class of 40 Under 40, which is pretty cool.
AMANDA DUNCAN: Yeah.
TONY PEYRONEL: And makes me-- when I get to hang around with people like this, it makes me seem even cooler than I am. Or maybe way cooler than--
AMANDA DUNCAN: You're super cool, Tony. What are you talking about?
TONY PEYRONEL: YEP actually cosponsors the annual 40 Under 40 Experience Gala that was held at the Courtyard. by Marriott this fall, even though that's not one place I would personally run into you at since I'm a little bit aged out of that category.
AMANDA DUNCAN: Hey, that event is for everybody of all ages. I'm going to put that out there now because we're already starting to plan 2022. You do not have to be under 40 to attend.
TONY PEYRONEL: OK.
AMANDA DUNCAN: Common misconception.
TONY PEYRONEL: So we'll get-- it was important we wipe that misconception away, since even though I've never been there, I do know that it's a really classy affair. But I'm wondering, how significant is the attention that the whole 40 Under 40 thing brings to young leaders in the region?
AMANDA DUNCAN: It's just such a fun celebration. And it really makes you appreciate how much talent we have here and how much creativity. Those lists are always chock full of artists and musicians and chefs and entrepreneurs who are just making Erie a really cool, vibrant community to live, work, and play in. And additionally, there's always folks to who are just working hard to make Erie a better place in their own way, whether that's through their own civic engagement or community service, or just kind of going above and beyond in their position and what they do. I think it's really important that we take that time out to kind of recognize that these individuals are putting forth such an effort to make sure that Erie remains a community of choice.
TONY PEYRONEL: OK, now the experience gala-- YEP is actually-- you actually work with the Reader on that event. Can you explain Young Erie Professionals role in that?
AMANDA DUNCAN: Sure. So the Erie Reader has been issuing these since 2013. So we're coming up on the 10 year anniversary of the issue next year. And then in 2018, YEP had recently relaunched we became a partner of the Regional Chamber. And we approached the Reader and said, why don't we do a big event to kind of accompany the issue and really celebrate these people?
In the past, they had kind of done a smaller event just for the honorees. But this would invite the entire community to come and celebrate these people and all the incredible things that they did while also giving us an opportunity to showcase all of their talents. So when you go to the 40 Under 40 Experience, everybody who is performing, who's serving drinks, who's serving food, everything that kind of makes the experience of it, they're 40 Under 40 nominees or honorees from either the present or the past.
And I love that about the event in itself and why we call it an experience, because it is really experiencing Erie compacted into this night-long celebration.
TONY PEYRONEL: Now, you're also involved in the Athena Circle of Trust, which are cohorts of emerging female leaders who empower each other to develop executive and leadership skills and to advocate for one another as leaders in the Erie Community. I've worked with many other participants, some of whom are former students. And they universally speak highly of that experience.
How has that helped you? And do you recommend that experience to other young female leaders?
AMANDA DUNCAN: Yeah. So I think one of the biggest challenges of moving back here after being absent for 10 years was I did not have a professional network in Erie when I moved back. I had left when I was 18 years old to go to college. So I left all of the network that I had worked really hard to build up behind in Pittsburgh and was looking for opportunities to kind of tap in and create those connections here in this community.
The first place I did that was Radius. The second place I did that was YEP. And the third place that I did that was Athena. And Athena is really special because it provides us an opportunity to take time out and, as women, not be mom, not be wife, but really talk about our own ambitions, our goals as professional women and support one another through peer mentorship.
So just taking that time aside each month to kind of focus on myself is, honestly, really incredible. I spend most of my days taking care of other people.
TONY PEYRONEL: Sure.
AMANDA DUNCAN: And I would absolutely recommend it to anybody. I think peer mentorship is super important, to have those people who understand you on that level, that you can trust who are going to accept you but also push and challenge you. It's really special and unique. And if anybody's interested in getting involved, I really recommend that they reach out through the website.
There's three cohorts in Erie County. We're actually only one of two communities that have this model. The other is Pittsburgh. It was brought to Erie, I think, in 2013 by a couple-- Courtney Steding, one of them, is still here.
TONY PEYRONEL: It's truly a Western Pennsylvania thing.
AMANDA DUNCAN: Now, Athena is an international organization.
TONY PEYRONEL: Right.
AMANDA DUNCAN: But the Athena Circle of Trust is only here in Erie and Pittsburgh. So it's really unique. It's an incredible opportunity for women in this community.
TONY PEYRONEL: Now, you mentioned mentorship. And you tossed out those three organizations and activities as being important to you. I'm sure mentorship is an important component of Young Erie Professionals in general. And I'm sure as president, you mentor many of the newer members.
You mentioned some of the organizations and the groups that were important to you. But you want to toss out any individuals who served as a mentor for you when you made that-- as you said, you left as an 18-year-old kid, really. And you came back. Any individual mentors who jump out when you think about that time period?
AMANDA DUNCAN: Wow, that's a good question, Tony. I'm going to think about it because I want to answer thoughtfully. One of the things that I did when I moved up here, I kind of challenged myself to meet with at least one person a month to start networking within the community and just do kind of just informational interviews. And I was so grateful, even though I was kind of stranger to a lot of these people, they'd say, yeah, I'll come-- I'll grab coffee with you. No problem.
So I remember sitting down with like Boo Haggerty at that time, Amanda Sissem Brown, Kristi Bailey, Linda Stevenson-- really, these people who are incredible leaders within our community. And they started pointing me to other folks. Honestly, I think the smartest thing that I did when I moved back though was join Radius. You know, shameless plug, but--
TONY PEYRONEL: Sure.
AMANDA DUNCAN: --I was a remote worker at the time. So I had no coworkers. I really had nowhere to kind of make friends and meet people outside of my family members. And I joined Radius. And Sean Fedorko, who's the owner, and Aubrey Regan DeMarco, who was the community organizer at the time, were so intentional in the way is that they introduced me to different people and different opportunities.
And they're the reasons why I got involved in Young Erie Professionals. Aubrey's the reason why I applied to be part of Athena. So I consider them friends. But they've also really helped me along so much. And I'm eternally grateful.
I think another is Kristi Bailey, who was the president of Young Erie Professionals when I joined. And she was the one who relaunched it in 2018 and turned YEP into what it is today, which is probably a different organization than some people will remember from back in the day. I've heard stories. I won't repeat them here.
But the organization we have now is much more focused on professional and personal development, community and civic engagement, and mentorship, like we talked about. Yeah, it's just been an incredible ride in the last four years since moving back. And I've had an opportunity to work with so many really great people. And I'm appreciative of all of them.
TONY PEYRONEL: Right. Your answer brings up something I think about when I think about the region the ecosphere and all that. And that's this level of interconnectivity. Just in the people you mentioned as mentors, Amanda Brown Sissem's a former guest in the show for work we did with the Erie Blues and Jazz Festival when they were struggling to overcome COVID. Audrey's husband, John DeMarco, we did a lot of work with Presque Isle Partnership. He was a former guest on the show.
You find that to be the case too? It's just-- I mean, it just seems there's these really strong connections.
AMANDA DUNCAN: Yeah. I joke that there's like a 1 and 1/2 degree of separation in Erie.
TONY PEYRONEL: Yeah, it's not seven.
AMANDA DUNCAN: You usually find a connection with somebody within a couple of minutes of having a conversation with them, a mutual relationship that you have or experience that you have. And it's so easy to connect with folks and then grow from there.
TONY PEYRONEL: Right. Now you did-- we talked about YEP's collaboration with the Reader on the experience gala. I want to give you a chance-- are there any upcoming Young Erie Professional events that you'd like to give a shout out to?
AMANDA DUNCAN: Yeah. Actually, at the end of this month, we have invited Laurie Root, who is the new president of the United Way, to speak as part of our Seat at the Table series. It's one of our most popular programs that we put on.
It gives our members and guests an opportunity to sit down with a leader in Erie County and hear from them, learn from them and their journey, kind of pick their brain, and then also speak into what they as young professionals would like to see these organizations working on when it comes to the future of our community. The other cool part about this particular event is it's going to take place at the new Erie Center for Arts and Technology, ECAT, at Wayne, or the old Wayne Elementary School. I had an opportunity to tour it at Homecoming. And it is just gorgeous.
It's insane what they've been able to do with that building and all the resources that Daria is bringing through that organization. But the United Way has relocated into that building. So we'll be taking a tour, learning a bit more about what ECAT is doing, and then also hearing from Laurie about the work that United Way is doing to combat poverty in Erie County.
And then after that, in mid-November-- the exact date is escaping me-- but actually, Abby from Mercyhurst's lab is planning an event on navigating career change. So we've invited Rebecca Stein, Amanda Kocherga, and Tyler Titus to come and sit on a panel and talk about what it's like to really make a total shift in your career from doing one thing to doing something very different. So you look at somebody like Rebecca, who has started all kinds of different ventures but is currently very successfully launching Blind Tiger, non-alcoholic spirits, and Tyler, who really has been part of human services but is making a transition into public service and politics.
And then Amanda has really held several positions within the county. She's done a lot of marketing work. She's done programming for the chamber. And now she's working in HR consulting with decision associates.
So I think that's going to be a really great conversation. That's going to be out at Mercyhurst. And we're really looking forward to that as well.
TONY PEYRONEL: That will be great. And we're pleased that Abby Laszewski, our Beehive sister at--
AMANDA DUNCAN: She just joined our leadership team for YEP. She's just incredible.
TONY PEYRONEL: Great. Well, we're glad that the Beehive is represented in that activity. So I'm sure she'll bring a lot to the table. I know you're busy. So we can't keep you forever, as much as we'd like to. And I usually close the show by asking the same question of all guests.
Is there anything else you would like to share with our listeners? And I'm going to let you do that. But there was another question I wanted to ask. And I thought, meh, maybe people would think it was personal and not necessarily relevant to the conversation. But Chris brought it up to me, Chris Lantinen, our producer.
And you actually brought it up earlier in-- early in our conversation here. You had me when we opened. And you talked about talked knowingly about Donnie Iris. You really had me there. You didn't have to go any further.
But then when you mention this big Sicilian family, and I've heard you talk about a love of cooking that comes from your family, and I love Italian food. And I don't-- I'm not-- my family's not Sicilian. But no one thinks I'm Italian because of my complexion.
But three of my four grandparents are Italian. They come from Northern Italy, which is where the kind of-- the fair skin--
AMANDA DUNCAN: That's totally normal.
TONY PEYRONEL: I don't look stereotypically Italian. But trust me when I say I have a very voracious and stereotypical appetite for Italian food. Would you mind talking a little bit about that cool family background and your love of food and cooking. And see, when I look at you, I don't immediately think Italian or Sicilian.
And then the Duncan throws you off that.
AMANDA DUNCAN: Well, you know those married names really mess you up.
TONY PEYRONEL: What's the family moniker? And how about if we close by you telling us that story about family and food?
AMANDA DUNCAN: So my mother is mostly Irish, which gives me my fair complexion. But my father is the eldest of the Natali clan. So a lot of folks-- he's the oldest of eight. My grandparents Josephine and Alfonso moved here in the '40s from Pittston, Pennsylvania, to work at GE and really build their lives here.
My grandfather was the deputy chief of police of the city of Erie, something we're all really proud of. And I just had this like really charmed childhood of going over to my grandmother's house every Sunday after church and her making a giant pot of sauce and meatballs or wedding soup or pizza, or whatever it was.
TONY PEYRONEL: Those are three great examples.
AMANDA DUNCAN: And we-- she'd have her dining room table. And then we'd set up additional card tables and folding tables all the way down the length of her house so that we could all sit around a table together. And this was back in the '80s. So at that point, there was under 30 of us, maybe.
Now there's well over 50 of us. I have 24 first cousins on my dad's side. And we've all started having kids. So I think my son was the 19th great-grandchild.
Very blessed that my grandmother is alive and well. She's 92 years old.
TONY PEYRONEL: Still cooking, I bet?
AMANDA DUNCAN: Yeah. I think mostly she's earned her spot in letting people cook for her at this point. So she's definitely the queen. We all take care of her.
And she's the one who really made me fall in love with cooking and showed me some of those initial recipes of how to make our family sauce, which is a well-guarded secret. And those are really special memories of just being in her kitchen and watching her cook and how she kind of measures everything with her hands, and just having that ritual of passing down those recipes and traditions from generation to generation. I realize that that is not common anymore and how blessed I am to come from that background.
But my family has carried on that tradition. We still do family dinners on Sunday now with our kids and my parents, who are now Mimi and Papa. And we cook and just spend time together as a family.
But yeah, I love cooking. I've been cooking for as long as I can remember. People make fun of me because I often like do some cooking shows on my Instagram stories where I'll just kind of follow along with whatever I'm making for dinner that night.
TONY PEYRONEL: I'm just going to tell you, there could be a Beehive opportunity in that. We do a little bit of video here. I mean, we're going to have to-- our resources are always tight. But if you're interested, maybe we can facilitate support of a cooking show for you.
AMANDA DUNCAN: Hey, we could totally do that. And then you could benefit from whatever the outcome of that cooking show was.
TONY PEYRONEL: I certainly could. And I certainly would plan to. So that's great.
That gives us something to look forward to. And on that, I'll close by really thanking you for ending by sharing that personal tidbit of your family and food and really thank you for everything you've brought to the program here. We appreciate you.
AMANDA DUNCAN: Thanks for having me, Tony.
NARRATOR: You can find the NWPA Innovation Beehive Network on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn by searching NWPA Beehive. The Beehive is made up of five grant funded centers that collaborate to encourage business growth in the Erie area and beyond. The center's work together to form the hive network while each location operates in its own specialized area of expertise. The Erie County Public Library, Penn State Behrend, Edinboro University, Gannon University, and Mercyhurst University are each responsible for a specific service. You can contact any of us at any nwpabeehive.com.
You've been listening to Buzz Generated. This podcast was released through Edinboro University's Center for Branding and Strategic Communication. It's produced by Chris Lantinen and Thomas Taylor. Thank you to our guest for their insight and to you, our listeners, for taking the time to experience innovation alongside us.
Consider subscribing if you like this episode to get more as soon as they drop. And if you really enjoyed it, jump over to Apple Podcast for a five-star review. We'll see you next time.
