Amanda Winters

Program Director
Post Secondary Education

Amanda Winters serves as a program director in the NGA Center for Best Practices where she serves as an adviser to state leaders on post-secondary and workforce policies.

Most recently, Amanda’s work has focused on state post-secondary financing with an emphasis on equity and measurable outcomes. She is also working on projects examining state longitudinal data systems, short term credentials, work-based learning, occupational licensure, state higher ed oversight and connecting education and work. She is working with colleagues and collaborative partners to expand the post-secondary portfolio of the NGA Center in response to the needs of states.

Before joining NGA , Amanda was assistant director of academic affairs at the Illinois Board of Higher Education where she worked on issues across the P-20 spectrum. In addition to working with more than 100 institutions in the state to provide institutional and program review, she worked with the community college system and the state workforce board on collaborative projects to promote college access and completion. She also taught in community college and university classrooms for more than seven years.

Amanda holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Missouri-Rolla, a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in history from the University of Illinois-Springfield. Her academic research has focused on the history of correctional institutions and education for incarcerated individuals.