Dr. Amanda Beacom leads VNL’s Data Science Team, overseeing our externally-facing services for clients and partners and our internal quality improvement initiatives. Amanda is a social scientist with expertise in network science. Her academic training includes a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Alberta, a PhD in communication from the University of Southern California, a master’s degree in public policy from Johns Hopkins University, and a bachelor’s degree in human biology from Stanford University. Before joining VNL, her network research included evaluating the long-term growth and effectiveness of community health coalitions; mapping the diffusion of best practices in the health care sector; and testing methods for collecting the most reliable data about organizational networks. Prior to her graduate studies, she worked for nine years coordinating health education programs and publications at the National Kidney Foundation, the International AIDS Society-USA, and the Journal of Infectious Diseases.