We are DWS – Amanda Rebello, London

As well as the work we do for the organisation to support our colleagues and clients, we are also distinguished by what we achieve personally. How we get involved and give back to society and to our local communities, as well as the convictions we stand up for.

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Portrait Amanda Rebello

In this feature of "We are DWS", a series to highlight the many contributions and achievements of our colleagues inside and outside DWS, we speak to Amanda Rebello, who recently took on a new role as Head of Passive Sales, US Onshore, but currently works in London.

Board Director for Magpie Dance, Advisor to the London Community Foundation (LCF), and a key contributor to the STEMettes programme, Londoner and former maths student, Amanda plays an active role in giving back and contributing to her local community.

Magpie Dance is the UK’s leading dance charity for people with learning disabilities such as autism and Down’s syndrome. “Through dance, we aim to shine a light on the creative abilities of our participants – who are aged between 4 and 36 and many of whom are home-schooled - and support them to reach their full potential,” says Amanda. “As well as increasing their confidence, our participants gain life, social and communication skills in addition to health and wellbeing benefits.”

"However, what makes me truly happy is when I speak to our participants and they tell me that they’ve got a job, for example."

Amanda Rebello, Head of Passive Sales, US Onshore

Through a partnership with the Royal Opera House, participants even get to perform on the grandest of stages on diverse and historical topics. Given Amanda’s background in sales she is able to add value in the marketing and communications team through fundraising, building pitch books for donors, tailoring messages for different audiences, identifying scope for tenders, and working with the Arts Council and National Lottery when their funding window opens.

“However, what makes me truly happy is when I speak to our participants and they tell me that they’ve got a job, for example. As adults, many remain very reliant on their parents and to help them achieve their independence really makes everything worthwhile.”

As an Advisor to the LCF Amanda also helps grass-roots enterprises to match donors with critical projects across her community. “A great example of the work we do was during the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017 that saw 72 people die,” says Amanda. “At the time there was no specific charity to help the victims or to lobby against cladding, and clearly money and human effort needed to be deployed very quickly.”

The LCF set up ‘The Dispossessed Fund’ in collaboration with local newspaper The Evening Standard and £1mn GBP was raised very quickly to support those most in need. The fund also secured the skills and expertise of stakeholders across the local community to make things happen.

Their ultimate goal is to ensure that all girls are able to make informed decisions about their careers.

Last but not least, Amanda is passionate about tackling gender equality in the workplace through the STEMettes programme. This aims to inspire the next generation of females into Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) fields by showing them the diversity of people already in STEM via a series of cohort programmes, impactful events and inspirational content platforms.

Their ultimate goal is to ensure that all girls are able to make informed decisions about their careers with the aim of 30%+ of the UK's STEM workforce being female in the future.

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