Amanda is the Clinical Lead Specialist for the Cambridge Public Schools.  In this role she supervises the special education social workers in the district. Previously, Amanda was a school social worker in Cambridge at both the middle school and high school levels.   A licensed mental health counselor, Amanda has worked in schools for over 15 years to help students feel seen, appreciated and understood. For the past eight years, Amanda has also served an adjunct professor at Boston College’s Lynch School of Education, where she teaches a practicum and supervision course for students seeking their master’s degrees in counseling. During the previous two years, she participated in the School Mental Health Leadership Institute through the Massachusetts Partnership for Youth and Rennie Center.

Amanda aims to use joy, connection and humor to build relationships with students and be a fierce advocate for those often left behind. In her new role she is looking to build data driven systems to better understand the needs of students and develop appropriate interventions and responses.  Amanda hopes to use this fellowship to transform the way social-emotional education and students’ mental health needs are incorporated into schools. Amanda holds a master’s degree from Boston College in mental health counseling; a master’s degree from the University of New Hampshire in kinesiology: sport studies; and a bachelor’s degree from Yale University in psychology.

At Yale, Amanda was a Zigler Fellow at the Edward Zigler Center for Child Development and Social Policy and a member of the women’s lacrosse team. In her free time, Amanda enjoys going to concerts, watching women’s sports and reading. Originally from New Jersey, Amanda is always in search of good pizza and bagels. Amanda has three children who leave her little free time, but who make her laugh daily.