Personal Summary

Amanda was born and raised in Montana. Amanda loves to travel, read, and spend time with her partner, Paul (also a social worker) and their two children, Bridger (8) and Anamarie (5). 

Amanda serves as the Chair of the Montana Food Security Council, a group that addresses food security across the state. She has also served on her local Aging Services board and as a liaison with the school district to work on nutrition policy. 

Amanda joined the University of Montana as an adjunct instructor and more recently as a Clinical Assistant Professor/MSW Director—a job she loves as it connects her favorite things—igniting students interests and ability to engage thoughtfully in social justice. She will push you to think critically about the policies that are a part of our day to day lives and work towards more equitable solutions. 

Education

Amanda has her Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of Montana, and her Master of Social Work degree from California State University in Long Beach. 

Courses Taught

SW 530, History of Social Policy, Justice and Change

SW 531, Social Policy Analysis

SW 505 Foundations

Affiliations

NASW

Montana Food Security Council

Alliance for a Healthy Montana

Professional Experience

Medical Social Work

Hospice Social Work

Macro Social Work; Policy and Advocacy - Issue Specialty: Healthcare, Food access, tobacco prevention, income inequality, equity, other social justice related topics.

Amanda has been a social worker for more than 15 years. She started her career as a medical social work in one of Montana’s largest hospitals and then spent time as a hospice social worker. Amanda spent the 9 years as a government relations director (aka, a lobbyist) fighting for policies that protect Montanans. Her areas of policy practice are food security, healthcare, tobacco-related disease and prevention, public health, and protecting local democracy. Amanda believes that civil discourse is the only viable path forward on many policy solutions and focuses much of her teaching on empowering social workers to be deep listeners in their communities. 

Hobbies

Reading, spending time in the mountains, yoga, dinner parties, and travel.