Biography

Biography


Amanda Wilkerson seeks to build a better world through cooperation, collaboration, and community action. She is an Assistant Professor in the College of Community Innovation and Education at the University of Central Florida and is a proud graduate of Florida A&M University. Amanda has written educational materials and coordinated forums on significant social, educational, and community matters. Amanda served as the guest editor for the Urban Education Research and Policy Annuals Journal-Hillard Sizemore Special Edition. She has written several articles and is a published book author with Palgrave Macmillan and IGI Global. As a part of her passion for higher education, Amanda is enhancing how students seize the promise of post-secondary learning through the development of instructional leaders who practice equity-based pedagogy. Specifically, she creates and manages collaborative partnerships that provide important services for those who serve underserved student populations. Also, as a passionate supporter of civic engagement, Amanda continues to work on community development projects, charitable causes, and advocacy initiatives for nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies. Her twitter handle is @DrAVWilkerson.

Education

Ed.D. in Higher Education and Policy Studies
University of Central Florida

Research

Research Interests
  • Explicating affirmative practices, policies, and organizing methods to leverage community partnerships and involvement for student learning;
  • Deconstructing culturally relevant pedagogical practices associated with teaching underserved student learners within the K-20 classroom; and
  • Reimagining destigmatizing strategies in student completion, principally on the usage of access, inclusion, and empowerment of underserved student populations.
  • The Principal Investigator of a National Science Foundation grant exploring Culturally Appropriate Messages and the Political Socialization of college-aged students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Awards

  • Selected as a Visiting Scholar at Rutgers Graduate School of Education with the Center for Minority Serving Institutions with an appointment for one full year
  • Immediate past editor of the Urban Education Research & Policy Annuals Journal
  • Under book contract with Palgrave Macmillan, a top national publisher
  • Recipient of the Diversity Scholarship with the Adult Higher Education Alliance