About Us
Who We Are and Why We Empower
Building Change Through Mental Health
Ready to Empower™ (RTE) is a women-founded, volunteer-run nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women and communities by addressing mental health as the foundation for lasting change.
For more than a decade, Ready to Empower has been rooted in the belief that empowerment cannot simply be given — it must be nurtured from within. When mental health is supported, individuals gain the clarity, confidence, and strength needed to build better lives for themselves, their families, and their communities.
Our Mission
To Champion Women's Empowerment Through Mental Health
Our Vision
To see a world where all women can be empowered
“Give a woman a fish and you feed her for a day.
Teach a woman to fish and you feed her for a lifetime.”
Our Core Belief
This belief guides everything we do. True empowerment happens when women and communities are given the tools, resources, and support to create sustainable change. Through our work, we have seen that mental wellness is what makes those tools effective — enabling people to make informed decisions, advocate for themselves, and lead within their communities.
That is why mental health is not just one part of our work — it is the foundation of all of it.
Over a Decade of Empowerment!
Ready To Empower's History
2013
Ready to Empower began in 2013 when our founder, Amanda Ready, met a community of at-risk women in Costa Rica (CR) and saw a need to provide better mental health and job training resources for the women in the community. She decided to put her education and experience working in social services & the mental health field into action. She spent 3 months in Costa Rica forming relationships, surveying needs, building programs, & cultivating leaders to carry out her vision of empowerment.
2014
After returning to the US, Amanda created Ready to Empower (RTE), a US-based non-profit, and co-founded Árbol De Esperanza (ADE), a CR-based organization to work in partnership with RTE and be solely run by Costa Ricans. During this time, Amanda raised temporary funds to kickstart her plan of action. Her plan included offering Costa Rican leaders financial support to carry out the program, while providing program guidance, organizational training, and mentoring to help support at-risk women in their communities.
2015
The Ready Empowerment Program Grant, a two-fold process that empowers leaders of women focused organizations to help elevate women, was finalized in 2015. The Empowerment Program provides the tools needed to equip women with mental health wellness, job training and the education needed to reach their goals and empower themselves.
2016-2021
From 2016 to 2021, RTE continued steadily empowering impact & growth with women participants, partnering leaders, volunteer support & fundraising. To learn more about RTE's impact..
2022- 2024
Growth, sustainability and expansion are ongoing efforts aimed at increasing access to mental health support and emotional wellness. We partnered with Destined to Empower Women (DEW) in India to deliver empowering support for their communities.
2025
RTE launched a new invocative, empowering offer - The Ready EmpowerED (RED) program in the United States. RED is a professional development and mental wellness initiative that equips educators, parents, students, and school staff with practical tools to manage stress, prevent burnout, and build emotional resilience. Through customizable, expert-led workshops and presentations, we help schools foster supportive cultures, strengthen classroom engagement, and enhance student success—ultimately building thriving and resilient school communities.
Every dollar invested in Ready EmpowerED™ not only strengthens resilience within schools but also directly supports the Ready Empowerment Program™ Grant, which provides mental health and empowerment programs for women in underserved communities worldwide.
2026 - Present Day
Ready to Empower ™ (RTE) proudly announced CEPIA, a leading nonprofit in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, as the recipient of the Ready Empowerment Program™ Grant. Selected for its strong community presence and shared commitment to women’s mental health, CEPIA partnered with RTE to expand access to care. In January 2026, RTE trained CEPIA’s psychologists on the Ready Empowerment Program™, and in February 2026, the program launched with 24 women beginning five months of free individual and group mental health support.
At the same time, RTE continues to grow its Ready EmpowerED (RED) initiative across the United States, delivering therapist-led workshops to educators, parents, and community leaders. Through both global and local programs, we remain focused on building sustainable mental health access and empowering women and families to create lasting change.
