Amanda Eastern, Ph.D., M.S.
Research Associate
Amanda Eastern has nearly 10 years of experience in applied social science research and early childhood policy analysis. Her areas of expertise include qualitative and mixed-methods research, environmental scans, and technical assistance. Her work centers on examining the experiences of families and providers, along with their perceptions and interactions with early childhood programs and systems, including early care and education, home visiting, and developmental health.
Currently, Eastern supports projects in the Child and Family Development practice area such as—
- Early Childhood Developmental Health Systems
- Institute for Home Visiting Workforce Development and Jackie Walorski Center for Evidence-Based Case Management
- Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Innovation Technical Assistance Center
- Home Visiting Applied Research Collaborative
Through this work, she helps develop guides, toolkits, and technical assistance resources; collects and analyzes mixed-methods data; and leads the compilation of reports, products, and environmental scans for innovative home visiting and child and maternal health initiatives.
Prior to joining JBA, Eastern worked as a policy analyst and research assistant conducting and synthesizing research on early childhood policy issues and as an early childhood educator. She received a Ph.D. and M.S. in human development and family studies from UNC Greensboro.