Amanda Samaniego – Executive Director
Amanda Samaniego is a native Wacoan. Amanda is passionate about setting others up to win by sharing God’s truth and helping women, especially single mothers, become who God created them to be. “Do Life Together” is her motto and she enjoys building relationships with others to journey with, because we weren’t created to do life alone. Amanda brings a plethora of life experience to the organization and the lives of those receiving services at Compassion Waco. Finding herself a newly widowed mother in 2009, Amanda certainly has overcome many challenges but believes God allowed her to experience the lessons and tragedies in her life so that His light could shine brightly through her. Amanda believes that if just one woman is impacted and encouraged because of her life story, then it was all worth it!
Amanda brings a plethora of other non-profit experience from Nachusa Youth and Family Services, Child Care Services, and the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce.
Amanda holds a Masters of Public Administration and a Bachelor’s of Sociology. She is active in her church and Single Mom’s Ministry. She served as a LEAD Mentor for seven years and enjoys giving back to the community.
Barbara Bridgewater – Case Manager
Barbara Bridgewater has been working as a part-time Case Manager for Compassion since 2002. She came to Compassion from Ohio, where she worked for a transitional program and emergency shelter for six years. Barbara has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Miami of Ohio University and a master’s degree in education from Ohio University. Her post-graduate work specialized in bilingual education, and she is fluent in Spanish. Barbara assists our Spanish-speaking families and helps the Spanish-speaking residents working towards their GED. Her husband, Phillip, is a full-time employee of Habitat for Humanity. They have two daughters. The whole family is involved in Hope Fellowship, a neighborhood church ministry in Waco, as well as with Habitat and Compassion.
