Dr. Amanda Baker

Amanda Baker recently completed her PhD in Comparative and International Education at the George Washington University in D.C. where she worked to better understand personal and professional outcomes for teachers who lead international educational experiences for students. At GW, Baker served as the curriculum specialist for a Fulbright Hayes Seminar Abroad to Jordan. She also helped coordinate the Bolashack Visiting Fellowship Program for Leadership and Higher Education Management and served as editorial assistant to Dean Michael Feuer on his recent book, Can Schools Save Democracy? Throughout her time in the PhD program, Baker leveraged her experiences in the classroom as she researched with fellow secondary educators the meaning they make of leading study abroad experiences, culminating in a publication in the Interdisciplinary Journal for Study Abroad, entitled “Collaborative Cosmopolitan Capital in In-Service Teacher-Led K-12 Study Abroad Programs,” which later won the best article award, given by the Study Abroad and International Students SIG at the Comparative and International Education Society Annual Conference in 2025. She also joined a group of graduate students on a study abroad experience to Cuba to explore the motivations and perceptions of choosing to study abroad at the graduate level, presenting findings at both the Comparative and International Education Society’s annual conference and the World Congress of Comparative Education Societies.

While pursuing her master’s in International Studies at North Carolina State University, Baker worked at the Global Training Institute in the Office of Global Education where she partnered with the U.S. Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan to coordinate a teacher training program for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in a semester-long, online program with a culminating conference, in-person at ADA University in Baku. She also coordinated teacher training with the Friends of Fulbright organization for EFL teachers in Colombia. Prior to pursuing her doctorate, Baker taught secondary social studies, predominantly civics, in Texas and then in North Carolina. She also taught AP Human Geography and AP World History, which inspired her to take her students on study abroad opportunities over the summer.