Amanda comes to us from a wide-ranging career in secondary education. She taught a variety of science classes in Central New York and in Tanzania as a Peace Corps volunteer. She completed a M.S. in Watershed Science at Utah State University where she researched the effect of hydrologic connectivity on nitrate concentrations in a headwater stream where nitrogen deposition is high. Amanda has a B.S. in Adolescent Education Earth Science and Earth Science from SUNY Oneonta, where she helped develop a paired convection cell model that is now used by in-service teachers to explain how convection works in the mantle and atmosphere. She is currently working on the SWIFT Project (Shale Water Interaction Forensic Tools) under Dr. Laura Lautz, investigating patterns of methane concentrations in domestic wells in the Southern Tier of New York. She has been working with homeowners to collect monthly groundwater samples from domestic wells to analyze natural dissolved methane concentrations through time. This work will give a better picture of background methane concentrations in groundwater without influence from unconventional hydraulic fracturing.

Her research focus is on sustainability of groundwater resources and her experience in East Africa makes her passionate to work toward universal access to clean water. Amanda is also an avid runner, skier, triathlete, and hiker.