Amanda Lynch

Black children ages 10 to 14 drown in swimming pools at 7.6 times the rate of white children. This is not a swimming problem. It is a history problem — and it demands a policy response. In this urgent and deeply personal keynote, Amanda Lynch traces the through line from Jim Crow-era pool closures to present-day drowning disparities, and makes the case for why community safety, maternal mental health, and aquatic access are inseparable. Drawing on her work as the founder of Find Your Float and her advocacy following the drowning death of nine-year-old King Overton at an unlicensed Virginia swim camp, Amanda calls audiences to move beyond awareness and toward structural accountability.

Attendee Results:

• Understand the historical roots of aquatic exclusion and their present-day consequences
• Recognize drowning disparities as a mental health and maternal health crisis, not only a public safety issue
• Learn what healing-centered aquatic programming looks like in practice through the Find Your Float model
• Understand the policy gap that leaves children in unlicensed swim programs without protection
• Leave equipped to advocate for structural change in their schools, organizations, and communities