After a near-fatal crash at 21, Amie DiGiampaolo has spent more than two decades volunteering, advocating, and building community to end impaired driving.
[Boston, Massachusetts] Amie DiGiampaolo’s journey with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) began long before she ever imagined herself as a volunteer, advocate, or community leader. It began on June 4, 2000—just two weeks after she graduated from college—when a night out with a close friend turned into a life-altering crash caused by a drunk driver.
Another car was driving fast and swerving on the highway they were on. “He got really close to us,” Amie remembers. “Enough for me to turn and look at him—and that was the last thing I remember.” The car struck them, sending their vehicle into a guardrail before it flipped multiple times and landed upside down.
“We were trapped underneath the car, and it caught fire,” she said. Two kind strangers pulled them out as they waited for help from first responders. “It’s a miracle that we both walked away.”
But as Amie describes it, survival was only the beginning. The physical injuries eventually healed, but the emotional toll lingered. “The trauma doesn’t end with the crash,” she says. At just 21 years old, she spent months recovering—not only from her injuries, but from the shock of seeing her life change so suddenly.
The Road to Volunteering
In the years that followed, Amie searched for ways to process what she had been through. While attending law school, she decided to reach out to MADD. What began as a step toward healing quickly became something much bigger. “I didn’t really know what to do with my feelings,” she says. “But once I got involved, I realized quickly that it helped.”
She began speaking at victim impact panels (VIPs), sharing her story with individuals convicted of drunk and drugged driving. What she expected to be difficult became cathartic.
After hearing Amie share her story, one of the VIP attendees told her that there was no way he’d drink and drive again.
“That’s when I realized that speaking up and sharing my story wasn’t just for me to heal. It could really help save lives and prevent people from hurting themselves or others,” Amie said. “That’s what I’d encourage other survivors to see too, if it helps them.”
Commitment to Driving Change
More than two decades later, she is still deeply involved with MADD, doing “a little bit of everything.” Amie has supported efforts at the State House to strengthen impaired driving laws and expand the use of ignition interlock devices. She speaks, advocates, mentors, and plays a critical role in organizing MADD’s Move with MADD events in the Greater Boston area.
“I love the community aspect,” she says. “There’s something really powerful about being around people who understand. It feels like family.”
Behind the scenes, her role is extensive— helping lead planning meetings, securing sponsors, recruiting participants, and ensuring every detail comes together. “It’s time-consuming,” she shared, “but I enjoy it. I really do.” Her commitment hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“She’s one of my go-to volunteers,” said Mary Kate Depamphilis, Executive Director of MADD Massachusetts. “She’s reliable, professional, and always ready to step in wherever we need her. I don’t know what Massachusetts would do without her.”
That trust has made Amie an essential part of the organization’s work at a local level. “When Amie tells her story, it makes an impact,” Mary Kate added. “That’s when people listen; they get motivated to take action.”
At Move with MADD events, connection is key. “It’s like a reunion every year,” Mary Kate shared. “ Of course, not for a reason anyone would choose—but it’s comforting to be with volunteers and fundraise alongside the same people, year after year, renewing their commitment to being part of the solution.”
Amie agreed. “You look around and see everyone together. There’s a lot of gratitude in those days.”
Her advocacy extends to the next generation as well. Each year, she speaks to high school seniors, showing them the reality of impaired driving through both her words and images from the crash. The response is something she never takes for granted. “They line up afterward to shake my hand,” she said. “You can see something click in their eyes. They understand that this is somebody’s real life.”
That is what continues to drive her to keep volunteering with MADD and raise awareness about the issue of drunk and drugged driving. She knows that many people don’t engage with this issue until it affects them personally, but she hopes that with MADD sharing more stories like hers, together, we can prevent crashes from happening and encourage better decision-making.
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Learn more about volunteer opportunities at madd.org/volunteer
