About | amyaveschallenger

ABOUT ME

I'm an American writer, artist, and mom
living in Switzerland.
I studied communications design at Syracuse University and have worked as a graphic designer, art director, and product designer in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Switzerland.

My articles, opinion pieces, essays, poetry, and fiction have been published internationally by leading magazines and newspapers. My art has been reproduced on greeting cards, books, gift products, and sold in retail stores like Gump's.

I have completed a dystopian novel that intersects my love of nature with technology and family. In this upmarket literary manuscript, a mother and her unusual child search for meaning in an authoritarian state that is losing its ability to "sense" actual life. The story follows a child before conception through childhood.

I'm a problem solver and have created communications, art, and products for companies like Klutz Press, Papyrus, University Games, and Ronald McDonald Children's Charities. I've worked in the non-profit world for causes around refugees, homelessness, and the environment.

I was once the chair of a college design program in Chicago where I developed curricula, hired instructors, and taught courses on design thinking.

I have started numerous small, grassroots organizations in California, Connecticut, and Switzerland to serve the homeless and refugees. I have also founded multiple clubs to unite international families in Switzerland. I cofounded a "Verein" in Switzerland called Refugee Response Zug and serve as a PA Welcome Representative for the International School of Zug and Lucerne.