Since 2020, Amy N. Perez has served as the community development director in Jacksonville, North Carolina, for Remember Everyone Deployed, a nonprofit organization supporting military communities. She is involved in planning events, such as those sponsored by The Met in New York to provide tickets for active duty service members; providing care packages for deployed service members; assisting spouses who are at home with things like meal preparation; and managing childcare services with their partner daycare, Giggles. Additionally, Ms. Perez has made a concerted effort to commemorate those who have lost their lives in the line of duty, an endeavor that has included partnering with a local cemetery to provide flags and wreaths for the graves of military men and women on Memorial Day.
Ms. Perez considers the highlight of her career to be establishing a candlelight vigil for 13 service members who lost their lives in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2021. Currently, she is coordinating the second annual vigil for these fallen service members, and Remember Everyone Deployed has partnered with a local transportation group to provide attending service members with free transportation to the event and a relaxing area with food and beverages when they arrive. Looking toward the future, Ms. Perez hopes to see the continued growth of Remember Everyone Deployed and to develop a program to help homeless veterans find housing.
Ms. Perez was inspired to join the military by her father, a U.S. Army veteran who served in the Vietnam War. After a conversation they had at The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall, she joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, where she served for six years. It has been this service, along with a desire to honor her father’s memory, that has kept her motivated to aid and support veterans and active duty service members. Ms. Perez was able to have her father honored for his service on The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall in 2022.
Alongside her work with Remembering Everyone Deployed, Ms. Perez established AmberVolt Creations LLC in 2019, a craft store where she sells custom, handmade wood creations, such as cups and key chains, as well as 3D printed items and laser engraved plaques. Early on, she spent time as a supervisor for military clothing in Japan while her husband was stationed there and worked as the manager of a children’s indoor play center for a year before coming to her current position with Remembering Everyone Deployed after she co-hosted an event alongside the organization’s founder, Gloria De Paul.
Attributing much of her success to hard work and a passion for helping others, Ms. Perez earned her high school diploma, completed college coursework, and has achieved certification as both a pharmacy technician assistant and a dental assistant. She is presently pursuing further education through financial coach master training with Ramsey Solutions. Above everything, Ms. Perez would advise young and aspiring professionals to work hard and do what they love, as she strongly believes that people can do anything if they have the passion for it.
Ms. Perez has been married to her husband, Mario, a Marine Corps veteran who retired after 13 years and two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, for many happy years. Together they are the proud parents of two children, Demetrius and Eliana. In November 2021, both Ms. Perez and her husband were featured on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” and Ms. Perez had previously been featured in an article about Remembering Everyone Deployed by The Daily News/JDNews.com in June of that same year. Ultimately, she hopes to leave a legacy as someone who was hardworking, passionate about her family, and made a difference in the lives of the military community.