Meet Our Leadership
Amy Hughes
Founder/Chair
Kristen Buenzow
Vice Chair
Joel Ott
Treasurer
Kelly Schall
Secretary
Brant Anderson
Director
Dayna Boyles Carpenter
Director
Julie DeVader
Director
Jeff Hatlevig
Director
Brian McCormac
Director
Tray Wade
Director
Mia Ellis
Co-founder, Board Member Emeritus
About Amadora: Mission, Vision, Values, and Impact
From a simple idea to share stories to a mission strengthening families across central Iowa.
Our Vision
A world with no “I wish I said…”
Our Mission
Create lasting gifts of love by capturing the life stories of those with life-limiting illnesses.
Our Purpose
We put storytelling at the heart of end‑of‑life care, creating emotional heirlooms that help families cope and connect.
Our Values
Service
We choose quality over quantity, focused on delivering consistently high standards of quality and prioritizing the needs of those we serve.
Empathy
Everyone is going through something, so we listen and learn intently, respect different points of view, lead with compassion and treat others as family.
Sense of Urgency
Time is precious, so we make smart decisions, work at a speedy pace and act quickly to make things happen efficiently and effectively.
Collaboration
We think and act as a team, working together to help achieve goals.
Integrity
We take our role seriously to honor and protect the stories entrusted to us.
Our Vision
A world with no “I wish I said…”
Our Mission
Create lasting gifts of love by capturing the life stories of those with life-limiting illnesses.
Our Purpose
We put storytelling at the heart of end‑of‑life care, creating emotional heirlooms that help families cope and connect.
Our Values
Service
We choose quality over quantity, focused on delivering consistently high standards of quality and prioritizing the needs of those we serve.
Empathy
Everyone is going through something, so we listen and learn intently, respect different points of view, lead with compassion and treat others as family.
Sense of Urgency
Time is precious, so we make smart decisions, work at a speedy pace and act quickly to make things happen efficiently and effectively.
Collaboration
We think and act as a team, working together to help achieve goals.
Integrity
We take our role seriously to honor and protect the stories entrusted to us.
Our story began as a wish made more than 40 years ago.
From the very beginning, Amadora Legacy Project has been about family.
At a young age, our founder, Dr. Amy Hughes, lost her beloved Italian grandmother to Alzheimer’s. With her passing went the sound of her grandmother’s laughter, the secret behind her famous spaghetti sauce, her catchphrases, and the stories of her childhood. Dr. Hughes grew up wishing she had captured those moments.
That longing to save what mattered most stayed with Dr. Hughes into adulthood and her professional career. As a Des Moines‑based oncologist, she saw both how quickly stories can be lost and how powerfully they bring clarity, comfort, and connection to families. These insights inspired her to found Amadora Legacy Project (formerly Love + Legacy) in 2022.
Amadora’s professionally recorded legacy videos are gifts of love that complement grief support and palliative care. By partnering with hospices and healthcare teams, we’re embedding storytelling into the standard of care and strengthening families through stories that last.
Meet Our Founders
With nearly 20 years as an oncologist, Dr. Amy Hughes is known for her clinical depth and the compassion and curiosity that shape her relationships with patients and families. Dr. Hughes began her path to medicine at 16 as a hospice volunteer, gaining an early, unfiltered view of how loss affects patients, families, and the unspoken space between them. She went on to earn honors in psychology at Albion College, completing a thesis on the long‑term effects of bereavement, before attending Des Moines University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. Her training continued through an internal medicine residency with Iowa Health Systems and a fellowship at Henry Ford Hospital. She is board‑certified in both medical oncology and internal medicine. In a full‑circle return to her beginnings, she is also a certified end‑of‑life doula, deepening her ability to guide patients and families through the most vulnerable chapters of care. Her work with Amadora has garnered media attention and recognitions, including being named a finalist for the 2025 Character Award for Inspiring Women of Iowa. Beyond Amadora, she has served on numerous nonprofit boards and committees, and is a frequent guest speaker discussing the importance of saving life stories.
Mia Ellis is a professional executive coach who brings clarity, connection, and grounded presence to her work with leaders. She has guided clients across industries and around the world as they build new leadership capacities, navigate major transitions, and learn to show up with greater intention in every part of their lives. She earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Colorado and completed her Advanced Executive Coaching Certificate through the Hudson Institute in Santa Barbara in 2019. A PCC‑certified coach with the International Coach Federation, she also brings extensive nonprofit leadership experience, including co‑founding and serving as executive director of a Seattle‑area organization focused on helping young people discover their purpose. Today, she leads Amplify Coaching and consults with the Executive Education program at Drake University. She describes her work as “helping people do hard things,” a philosophy rooted in her core values of connection and joy and her deep understanding of the importance of physical health and emotional well‑being. Known for her ability to put people at ease, she creates the trust and openness that allow honest reflection—and the stories, insights, and breakthroughs that follow.
Our Impact, So Far
A snapshot of our impact since 2022
Lasting Heirlooms
Nearly 80 videos professionally produced, with an estimated reach of 400+ family members and friends.
No Cost
100% of families receive their legacy video at no cost, thanks to donor support.
Service
11 specially trained Legacy Coaches have volunteered nearly 600 hours to support legacy storytelling.
Meaningful:
100% of participants find the experience very meaningful.
Trusted
100% of participants recommend the service to others.
Healing & Hope:
85% of families say their loved one’s legacy video will help their loved ones move forward through grief.
Enduring Joy
85% of family members say hearing and seeing their loved one in the video brings them comfort and happiness.
See how we're helping families like Barb's
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