Psychology

Amanda Balkhi, Ph.D. is a passionate advocate for child health and wellbeing and is the current Executive Director of the Balkhi Foundation. With the support of educators, families, and students, it is Amanda’s goal to bring the strong opportunities for educational growth within and outside of school within reach of the talented students that are striving for success. It is her hope to use the lessons learned in academia to partner with schools and students in similar positions to build a culture of mentorship and collaboration that facilitates student success for years to come. A proud “triple gator” (B.S. 2011, M.S. 2013, Ph.D. 2016) born and raised in South Florida, she is especially proud to be able to build an enduring relationship with the staff and students at the University of Florida.

Amanda’s previous scientific publications focus on improving and disseminating effective interventions for the health of children with significant illnesses and their families. During her time at the University of Florida, Amanda led the first study to assess the impact that parents’ online health information seeking has on children with Type 1 Diabetes which provided key insights into the impact that online relationships have on real-world caretaking. She also worked with the University of Florida Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Program to codify the Progressive Cascading Model of therapist training thus disseminating a highly effective and scalable model of training for the treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.