Dr. Amanda Teye is the Director of the Madison Center of Community Development at James Madison University. Dr. Teye is a recognized applied research and evaluation scholar. Her work has contributed to the founding and expansion of several local, evidence-based programs and interventions that have been transformative for the community. Dr. Teye’s scholarship incorporates rigorous emphasis on measurement, implementation science, and practical data utilization that provide insight for community-based program growth. Her community-based research and evaluation work has partnered with many organizations and collectively been supported by national agencies including U.S. Departments of State, Health and Human Services, Education, and Justice.  

In 2023, James Madison University received an Eminent Researcher Retention award from the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation for Dr. Teye’s work bridging technology and applied community-based research. In 2023, she collaborated to win a Microsoft and Urban Institute Catalyst in Criminal Justice Reform award for use of technology to enhance and strengthen local diversion initiatives. Dr. Teye continues to lead the growth and commercialization of innovative SaaS technology solutions in human services data management for ethical research. She is also a member of the National Mentoring Resource Center Research Board. Her current work is focused on improving data management for community response programs across sequential intercepts as well as advancing program data use for feedback and decision-making. 

Dr. Amanda Teye earned a B.A. degree in Government at Claremont McKenna College, a Master of Public Administration degree at California State University San Bernardino and a Ph.D. in Political Science with emphasis on American Politics and Public Policy at Claremont Graduate University. She has been at JMU since 2010. Dr. Teye currently teaches in Research Design and Program Evaluation as a core faculty member in the Master of Public Administration program within the Department of Political Science.  

“We hope to use action research and data science as a catalyst for community development. I have worked directly in the community for over a decade and will continue in that same direction at MCCD, developing new partnerships and opportunities.”