Amanda co-leads and contributes to studies that examine how media and digital educational resources support learners and educators. Her research interests include science education and educational media, specifically examining how educational media can promote equity in STEM.

Amanda is a researcher on the Ready To Learn project, a U.S. Department of Education-supported initiative led by PBS and CPB, that targets the use of media resources to improve low-income preschool children’s school readiness. She also works on the LEGO Foundation-funded Learning through Play with Technology Initiative, exploring the relationship between play and learning in international contexts. 

Amanda received a BA in Early Childhood Education and MEd in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology, focused on Social Justice, from Boston College. Prior to joining CCT, she worked at New York University as a research associate for the Cognitive Development and Social Cognition lab. This role involved leading a National Science Foundation-funded research intervention examining both the prevalence of identity-focused language in children’s natural environments and its effects on children’s engagement in science. This research has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and in Developmental Psychology. Amanda was formerly a second-grade teacher at an international school in Quito, Ecuador.