Project Director for Strategic Initiatives
Amanda is a Project Director for Strategic Initiatives working on the Grand Challenges in Public Administration campaign.
Prior to rejoining the Academy, Amanda spent a decade in the federal government, most recently as a Program Analyst in the Office of Policy and Program Analysis at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) overseeing a diverse portfolio of programs and making recommendations to leadership on the agency’s budget priorities and tradeoffs.
Prior to her work at FEMA, Amanda served as a Senior Analyst at the U.S. Government Accountability Office conducting performance reviews of programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Weather Service. Additionally, she played a crucial role in several crosscutting assessments aimed at enhancing the federal approach to disaster recovery and improving federal guidance on testing for lead in drinking water in K-12 schools.
Amanda started her career as a Research Associate at the Academy working on organizational studies for the Social Security Administration, FEMA, and the National Weather Service.
Amanda holds a Master of Public Administration from Cornell University and a BA in Political Science from the State University of New York at Cortland.