Amber Bernhardt has one of the most enthusiastic, genuine self-job descriptions we've had the pleasure of reading, yet. A teaser: "I play for a living. I create make believe. And if I make believe and play to the extent of my ability, I get to enrich humanity doing it. How cool is that?!" We'd say it sounds incredibly cool.
What's Amber so passionate about? She's the executive director of Dakota Stage, a community theatre company in Bismark, North Dakota. As the company's lone full-time employee, Amber does it all, taking on everything from grant writing and promotions to ticket sales, event planning, budgets and bathroom cleaning. It's hard to believe, then, that this "Jill-of-all-trades" was ready to abandon theatre for a career in social work just before she snagged her current gig. Amber stayed because she believes this "tangible, colorful, meaningful art form is an incredibly important and effective tool for social change." We think she'll make you believe, too.