Amanda Miller has always been fascinated by the origins and lifecycle of things. This understanding of where things come from have helped her dream big about the possibilities of her community in Federal Way.

Miller is executive director of the South King Tool Library’s branches in Federal Way and Auburn. The tool library is a free resource for community members to access everything from nails to electric saws to to shop vacuums — and recently celebrated its 10,000th tool checkout.

On Feb. 24, the tool library’s recycling event for shredding paper and recycling foam packaging and plastic cling film attracted 540 participants. The tool library has also won many regional awards.

In addition to her role as executive director, Miller is also the president of the PTA for 600 students at Wildwood Elementary, and is a member of the parent advisory group for the superintendent of Federal Way Public Schools. She is also president of the Soroptimist International of Federal Way, and teaches classes and workshops to Boy Scout troops in the MakerSpace at the King County Public Library.

She is also organizing on a large scale for tool libraries around the country, and the world, and frequently consults as a subject matter expert on tool libraries and waste reduction.

For her community involvement and leadership, her big-picture vision of a future of increased community and social connection, and her steely dedication to reducing waste and sharing resources, Amanda Miller is the Mirror’s Hometown Hero for February 2024.

“I see the potential in everything. In people, in stuff, in energy and how we use it, and whether or not we can be more efficient,” Miller said.

She focuses on helping people start wherever they can.

“Simple solutions are not always going to be the best,” she said. “But if it’s a starting point…if you borrow tools instead of buying them, when you buy your first house, maybe you can start to think about what else do I actually have to buy?”

She’s seen this shift in perspective with her two kids: “Kids break stuff. Go figure. Normal kids will be upset and ask when can I get a new one, but mine just assume that we can fix it.”

Growing up in Virginia, Miller saw the origins of food and our nation’s history.

“Normal people were going on vacations in the summer. I was going to Amish country, milking cows and killing chickens,” she said, an experience that contributed to her becoming a vegetarian for many years, but also gave her a strong connection to where our food comes from. She said her school field trips would be to the greatest landmarks in United States history like Jamestown or Washington, D.C., “again, the origins of things.”

Her 11 years of experience working in warehousing, distribution and supply chain logistics gave her insight into more origins — this time the manufacturing process for cars, motors, heavy machinery, motorcycles and more. She’s also studied international business, Chinese archaeology and Japanese architecture and gardens.

All of these experiences (and her seemingly endless curiosity) have also showed her the inefficiencies and waste in many of the systems we use every day, she said.

“I want to be on the right side of history for my kids,” she said. “I feel a little responsible for like leaving the world better than they found it.”

Miller moved to the Seattle area when she was 21 and has lived in Federal Way for many years. Of the city, she said she is still “just blown away with the range and the amount of people that are here, and I really describe it as a place with endless potential.”

Personal experiences have also shaped her desire to make basic maintenance accessible to everyone.

Although something like maintenance of a dryer vent “seems like a little insignificant thing,” and you might ask, “how does that help change the world?” Miller knows the ramifications of this firsthand.

“I had a friend die from a house fire from a dryer vent,” Miller shared. Her friend’s brother and his brother’s girlfriend died in the fire as well. At the tool library, people can borrow extender brushes and shop vacs that can clean dryer vents.

Miller said it all comes back to asking why we do the things we do, then asking how we can do it better. She said she’s been asked who benefits the most from the tool library, and she said “it’s all of us, all of us benefit from people making good decisions and being good stewards of what we have, anything that they have authority to.”

As for the future of Federal Way, she hopes that as a community we keep “leaning into solutions to our problems” and keep focusing on the motto to “do the best you can until you can do better” in all aspects of our role as stewards of our collective resources.

Amanda Miller at the South King Tool Library in Federal Way. “I see the potential in everything. In people, in stuff, in energy and how we use it, and whether or not we can be more efficient,” Miller said. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror

The South King Tool Library in Federal Way features a variety of resources, available to check out for free. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror

The South King Tool Library in Federal Way features a variety of resources, available to check out for free. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror

Next time you think you might need to head to a hardware store to purchase nails or other maintenance tools, a visit to the tool library might meet the same need. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror Next time you think you might need to head to a hardware store to purchase nails or other maintenance tools, a visit to the tool library might meet the same need. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror