Amanda R. Matos

Amanda R. Matos is an experienced community organizer, policy analyst, and communications expert. She serves as Director of Constituency Campaigns at Planned Parenthood Action Fund & Planned Parenthood Federation of America where she leads strategic electoral and legislative campaigns centering young people, Latinx & Black communities. And she’s no stranger to Planned Parenthood – she was the former Manager of Community Organizing at Planned Parenthood of New York City from 2013-2016.

Amanda’s background in community organizing stems from her childhood growing up in the Bronx, New York and later co-founding and directing the WomanHOOD Project, which is a youth-led after-school mentorship program for girls of color. Believing firmly in the importance of community-driven policy, Amanda partnered with New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Girls for Gender Equity in creating the Young Women's Initiative, a participatory governance model for young women of color to innovate policy solutions for their communities. Building upon her community-driven policy experience, Amanda spent Summer 2018 living in San Juan, Puerto Rico researching housing policy reform on the aftermath of Hurricane Maria for the Hispanic Federation’s UNIDOS Fund.

Amanda has published podcasts, editorials, and policy research in Feministing.com, Latino Rebels, New Leaders Council Millennial Compact, the Kennedy School Review, and the Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy. Amanda received a Bachelor of Arts in Ethnicity & Race Studies from Columbia University and a Master in Public Policy with a Certificate in Management, Leadership, and Decision Sciences at the Harvard Kennedy School as a Sheila C. Johnson Fellow, and is a proud of fellowship alum of Young People For, New Leaders Council, Peace First, and the Open Society Internship on Rights and Governance.