Sara Amadon, PhD, is the inaugural executive director of the Institute for Thriving Children & Families. Prior to Bank Street, Sara was a Senior Research Scientist and Program Area Director of Early Childhood Systems Building at Child Trends. With over 15 years of experience leading applied, policy-relevant research, she is a recognized expert in early childhood systems who combines rigorous research with a deep commitment to equity and impact. Her work spans the child care workforce, rural child care access, and the long-term outcomes of public pre-K programs, as well as how housing and neighborhoods shape child and adolescent development. Dr. Amadon has led research funded by the Spencer Foundation, the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. A former OECD, AERA-SRCD, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation fellow, her work has been published in Developmental Psychology and the Journal of Research on Adolescence and featured by NPR.
Sara Amadon
Executive Director, Institute for Thriving Children & Families
