Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Taylor.
Amy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I got sober in 2012 after battling addiction throughout college at the University of Kansas. At that point, I could not tell the truth. I could not make it through a day without substances. I could not even look at myself in the mirror. Treatment changed the trajectory of my life. I finished my degree, and I found myself in sobriety, but I felt utterly lost when it came to my career.
My first real break came when I started working for Atlanta Eats and Bread and Butter Productions. That is also where I met Kyle, who kindly nominated me for this series. Those years were foundational because it was where I discovered my passion for storytelling. I learned that my creativity was my currency and that new ideas could actually build a name and a path for me.
After helping restaurants tell their stories, I developed a fascination with food waste and sustainability. That curiosity led me to Rubicon in 2017, an Atlanta-based tech unicorn on a mission to end waste in all of its forms. While I was there, I conceptualized, developed, and hosted The Town Haul podcast, interviewing industry leaders such as the CEO of Seventh Generation Cleaning Products, the CEO of the Atlanta Hawks, and the founder of AppHarvest. For over five years, I helped others tell their green stories, and somewhere along the way, I realized it was time to start writing a new chapter in my own.
Around then, I met my husband, Michael, a kind, like-minded sober guy living in Serenbe. He has always had a big heart for bringing people in recovery into the community. He helped many men get their footing by inviting them to work and live in Serenbe while he worked in commercial and residential real estate for the community. We were introduced through friends in recovery, and the foundation that we share in sobriety remains the core of our marriage.
We got married in 2019. Our daughter Sloane arrived in 2020, and our son Teddy followed in 2022. Becoming a mother changed my sense of purpose and made my work feel even more meaningful.
In 2023, I joined Lexicon Strategies as Head of Content Strategy. Lexicon is a leading community and social impact consulting firm, and the work aligned perfectly with my love for storytelling and mission-driven communication. Within 18 months, I was promoted to partner and stepped into a more visible role. Today, I guide both national and local clients through crisis communications, brand storytelling, and digital marketing campaigns. One client I think about often is 988, the suicide and crisis lifeline. Mental health hits close to home for me, and without the foundation of my own recovery, I would not be able to show up for others in the same way.
In 2025, I became pregnant with our son Miles. He arrived seven weeks early after I spent a month in the hospital with severe preeclampsia. As of December 2025, he is still in the NICU. This season has been one of the hardest of my life, and it has made me even more grateful for my recovery, my family, and the flexibility and support I have at Lexicon. Those three anchors are why I can navigate something so overwhelming with my feet still on the ground.
On December 25th, 2025, I will celebrate 13 years of sobriety. They have been the most meaningful years of my life. Everything good in my life is rooted in continuous sobriety. I share my story because I believe deeply in reducing the stigma around addiction and recovery. When we recover loudly, we help others from dying quietly. We cannot afford to stay silent.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I have had plenty of struggles along the way. In early recovery, I had to relearn the basics of being a functioning human. I had to rebuild trust, follow through, sit with feelings, and stay honest even when it felt uncomfortable. Sobriety gave me clarity, but it also forced me to face everything I had been running from.
Career-wise, I wrestled with confidence. I knew I loved storytelling, but I questioned my place in every room. I worried that my past would count me out. It took time to see that my lived experience sharpened my empathy and creativity. Those tools became my edge.
Motherhood brought a new layer of challenge. Trying to balance two young kids, a demanding career, and my recovery has never been simple. And then Miles came early. A month in the hospital, a 33-week preemie, and now life in the NICU pushed me to my limit. I have never felt more stretched or more vulnerable.
But every struggle has reinforced the same truth. Recovery is my foundation. Community keeps me grounded. Asking for help is a strength. And even in the hardest seasons, I can still move forward with purpose.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
What sets me apart in my work is the combination of lived experience, creative instinct, and a genuine commitment to purpose. I come from a background that forced me to learn resilience the hard way. That gives me a level of empathy and emotional intelligence you cannot fake. I can walk into a room, listen to a story, and find its heart quickly because I know what it feels like to fight for your own.
I also bring a storyteller’s brain to everything I do. I look for patterns, tension, human moments, and the meaning behind the message. I know how to take something complicated or sensitive and make it clear, relatable, and compelling.
Working in recovery, sustainability, media, and now crisis and community impact has also given me a wide lens. I understand how to navigate challenging issues and guide clients through moments when the stakes are high and the message truly matters.
Most importantly, I stay grounded. Sobriety taught me humility and honesty. Motherhood taught me perspective. The NICU taught me strength. Those lessons show up in my work every day. I do not operate on autopilot. I show up with intention, compassion, and creativity, and people feel that.
What matters most to you?
What matters most to me is my family, especially after what we have lived through this year. My pregnancy with Miles became life-threatening almost overnight. I developed severe preeclampsia and was hospitalized for a month. My organs were struggling, my blood pressure was dangerously high, and every day felt like we were holding our breath. There were moments when doctors were talking to Michael in ways no partner ever wants to hear. It was terrifying because it was real. I was fighting for my own health, and at the same time, trying to keep Miles safe inside me for as long as my body could handle it.
Miles was born seven weeks early and has been in the NICU ever since. Walking out of the hospital without your baby is something you never forget. The daily rhythm of monitors, rounds, waiting, and hoping has reshaped me. It has also shown me how strong my family is. Michael has held everything together while taking care of Sloane and Teddy, and our kids have shown more resilience and love than I ever expected from children so young.
Going through something this serious makes everything else fall away. You realize very quickly what actually matters. Health. Love. Support. The people who sit with you in fear and show up again the next day. I care about my work and my purpose, but my family is the center of my world. I survived a medical crisis that could have ended very differently, and my son is fighting every day to get stronger. That has changed me forever.
What matters most to me now is making sure my family is healthy, safe, and surrounded by love. Everything else is secondary.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lexiconstrategies.com/amy-taylor
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-koonin-taylor-592857115/
