Amanda was born in Smithfield, NC, has lived in 8 states, and has called Irving, TX home for the past 28 years. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Communications from Purdue University in 1991. She began her career as a Recruiter with the recruitment research firm from which Thorn was founded, and has enjoyed a 33-year career with the company. Her passion is connecting talent, and she is known for building bridges; she has friends all across North America that include Thorn Alumni, Thorn clients, and Thorn candidates.
Under Amanda's leadership, Thorn has been honored to receive numerous awards of excellence, including Dallas Business Journal's Best Places to Work, along with the Rising Star and Bronze awards for Best Recruiting Team of the Year from Dallas HR and Texas Recruiters Network. Amanda has invested in the talent acquisition community over the years by training many Fortune 500 companies on passive talent recruiting, sitting on HR/talent boards, and developing some of the best and brightest talent leaders in the nation.
Outside of Thorn, Amanda spends her time on the six 'F's—Faith, Family, Friends, Food, Fitness, and Finance. She has enjoyed spending time with her husband, Tony, for 36 years. If you know her, then you know how proud she is of their 26-year-old twins. Amanda spends her Saturday mornings doing home visits for St. Vincent de Paul, and her afternoons watching and/or playing sports. Amanda is a recent avid pickle ball fan and can't wait to live on the beach—of course, still making connections from there!
Leann was born in Tomball, TX, moved to Houston, TX, and then made her way to Dallas in 2016. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Management with a Human Resource Management emphasis from University of Houston – Main Campus, and had the opportunity to intern with fantastic organizations like the EEOC and CDW. Shortly after graduation she began her career within recruiting at Thorn Recruitment and is now a Recruiting Manager. She is passionate about helping talented individuals get their dream jobs, taking care of her wonderful clients, and training/developing her rock star team.
Outside the office, Leann enjoys traveling with her incredible husband, Geoff, as well as caring for her rambunctious rescue pup!
Jenna was born and raised in the small town of Albany, TX (population about 1,200)! She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Sport Science from Howard Payne University and joined Thorn right away. Jenna has been instrumental in Thorn's outstanding national reputation, recruiting talent for some of Thorn's top and most valuable clients. Her clients rave about her quality, communication, and dedication to client satisfaction.
Outside of Thorn, Jenna loves spending time with her husband, Nick and two daughters, Sara & Emily. She loves to run and is always training for her next race. The family stays busy with its church and sports activities.
Paige grew up in Plano, TX and graduated from the University of North Texas in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Management. Shortly after graduation, Paige joined Thorn Recruitment as an Executive Recruiter. Since then, she has received various promotions over the last 9 years and currently is the Director of Client Development. As the Director of Client Development, Paige’s focus is on developing new partnerships and growing existing relations with clients through a consultative approach. She has a true passion for recruitment research and helping leaders solve their talent acquisition problems.
Outside of Thorn, Paige enjoys spending time with her 5-year-old daughter, 1-year-old son, and her best friend/husband. In addition, she enjoys traveling, Texas Tech sports, carpooling her daughter to gymnastics and dance, and trying new restaurants in the DFW area. Her most recent hobby is creating custom stickers for her Etsy shop during her free time.
Ariel grew up in Plano, TX and graduated from The University of North Texas with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. After graduation, she joined Thorn as a TA Intern to learn more about recruiting and business. After a year of learning, Ariel decided to accept a full time role at Thorn to help the team recruit the best talent. She has since been promoted to Talent Acquisition Partner, where she helps talented individuals find their dream jobs, and works alongside Thorn’s Talent Managers to ensure the highest level of client satisfaction. Ariel has already helped Thorn’s clients with several hires and looks forward to more to come!
Outside of Thorn, Ariel enjoys spending time with family and friends. She also enjoys reading, going to concerts, and listening to music.