Amanda Pierson

Amanda is a Ph.D. student at the University of Arizona School of Sociology. Her research and teaching interests include urban sociology, inequality, criminal justice, and social science methodologies. Specifically, her research examines how individuals experiencing homelessness manage social life and the law. 

Amanda is the recipient of the 2019 Philip J. Amsterdam Graduate Teaching Award and was nominated for a graduate mentoring award by the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences in 2022. She has been nominated for two Secretary of Homeland Security Awards for her work championing diversity efforts and improving data processes at the Secret Service. In 2022, Amanda received the United States Secret Service Director's Award for her work on improving data access and visualization for the agency. Amanda received her B.A. in criminal justice with a minor in statistics and her M.A. in criminology from The George Washington University.