Amber Recker, 32, is director of marketing and development for Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana.
Community and leadership involvement: Vice president of communications for Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana; president-elect for Anthony Wayne Rotary; member of Women United, which is part of the United Way of Allen County; and member of the Circle of Women Steering Committee for the YWCA. Recker is also a founding member of the Fort Wayne Derby Girls, a roller derby team.
Most recent accomplishment: Recker was selected as a co-host for INSight, a morning talk show, on Indiana’s NewsCenter. She is on Wednesday mornings and said she was selected because of her extensive community work and volunteering. “We talk about those types of opportunities in our community and also other events going on in our community,” Recker said. She also was recently nominated as the “Most Influential Woman in Social Media in Indiana,” a recognition done through a volunteer organization called the INdiana SMack Down Awards (the S and the M stand for “social media”). For her job and organizations she volunteers with, Recker helps with marketing and communications through social media including Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and Google Plus.
What makes a leader: Recker listed several characteristics, including confidence, knowledge, trustworthiness and integrity. Others are discipline, being willing to give credit “where credit is due,” and a willingness to lead.
Leadership traits you most value: Compassion, kindness, intelligence, vision and fairness.
Best leadership book you’ve read: Recker said she reads seven to eight books a month and tries to include at least a couple of business-oriented titles in her selections. The best she’s read so far is called “Love is the Killer App” by Tim Sanders. Recker said she was able to meet and have dinner with the author when he visited Fort Wayne for a convention. Sanders, she said, uses the word “Lovecat,” which describes someone who is successful in business and life and has “a way of connecting with people.”
Best ways to overcome self-doubt: “First, and probably the hardest,” Recker said, “is just acknowledge that it exists. Sometimes that act alone can help you alleviate it or overcome it.” Next, she said it’s important to focus on positive thinking. “We aren’t born with self-doubt. We gain it over the course of our life” through failure or disappointment, she said. It’s also important to surround yourself with people who support and love you and then recognize “when you’ve done a job well done and give yourself credit,” she said.
Time management tips: Recker said she “could not live without technology” – specifically her iPhone. She uses an app to sync her calendars and task lists, which helps her keep her schedule and commitments. She spends the last five to 10 minutes of her workday developing and finalizing her to-do list for the next day.
Role model(s) and why: Recker has two, including her husband, Jon Recker. They have been married nine years, and Recker considers Jon her “beacon of reason and levelheadedness.”
Recker said her husband tends to be more reflective, while she tends to be more emotional and prone to “think with” her heart. They balance each other. “I really wish I had half of his ability to simplify things,” Recker said. She also admires her husband’s decision to change career paths at age 40 and go back to school.
Recker’s second role model is her late grandfather, Verle Burhenn, who lived in Illinois and died last year. She said her grandfather was a selfless person who gave to church, family and charity.
Describe one leadership challenge and how you resolved it: When Fort Wayne Derby Girls started in late 2005, Recker said it was “kind of a wild idea, and it was not an idea that our conservative community wrapped its arms around immediately.” Those involved had to build Derby Girls by scratch, providing athletic entertainment and also wanting to generate money to give to charities. They relied on leagues from other cities for guidance. The roller derby team is now in its sixth season. Recker said she retired from actively skating last year but is pleased the organization has now given nearly $100,000 to charities.
What are your goals: To be mayor of Fort Wayne. “In all seriousness,” she quickly adds. Recker said she envisions running for the city’s top office in the 2027 election. Recker said she loves Fort Wayne and appreciates how easy it is to get involved. “If you want to make a big difference, you can,” she said. On a more personal level, Recker said her goals include having a healthy and happy family and a successful career, wherever that career will lead.
Hobbies: Reading, writing and blogging. Recker writes several columns for area publications. She has a cooking blog, “The Ginger Kitchen,” on thegingerkitchen.com, and helps co-write a community-oriented blog focused on volunteering that can be found at contagiouscommunity.org.
Compiled by Lisa Green, The Journal Gazette
