Amanda is an Evaluation Specialist at The Evaluation Center, working on a range of public health and education projects. Prior to joining The Evaluation Center, Amanda worked as a Research Associate at OMNI Institute where they primarily supported research and evaluation efforts in substance use prevention and treatment for State Opioid Response and Substance Abuse Block Grant funds in partnership with Virginia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. Through technical assistance to community agencies, data monitoring, qualitative and quantitative analysis, reporting, data visualization, materials development, and process development, they supported the team and clients in this long-standing effort.

Some of their favorite past projects were working closely with clients that serve LGBTQ+ youth to develop logic models and theories of change to articulate program impact. They also worked in state workforce and higher education policy efforts as the Future of Work fellow with the Bell Policy Center and the Request for Information coordinator with the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative, a program of CDHE.

Amanda has a passion for listening-centered communication, and their research and evaluation work is rooted in listening deeply to colleagues and community members. They focus on learning and collaborating with community organizations and getting past the jargon.

They have a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from American University in DC and a Master of Social Work from the University of Denver. They grew up in St. Louis County.

Outside of office hours Amanda is in their community garden, hiking, or finely chopping vegetables.