Amy Bintliff

Amy Vatne Bintliff is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Education Studies at the University of California, San Diego. She teaches PAL (Partners at Learning) courses, which provide preparation and mentoring for undergraduate students participating in service-learning in schools and nonprofit organizations in underserved communities.

She holds a Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Master’s degree in Education from Hamline University in Minneapolis. She taught language arts and reading for fourteen years in both traditional and alternative middle and high schools. In 2014, she received the national Award for Excellence in Teaching from Teaching Tolerance for her commitment to anti-bias and anti-racist work in her middle school language arts classroom.

Her areas of expertise include restorative justice, mentoring programs, trauma-informed practices, and adolescent development. She has developed several innovative programs for youth that involve art, youth-led activism, and outdoor education.

She recently developed an after-school arts-based intervention called “The Well-being Club” for adolescent girls with histories of family stressors. In this intervention, undergraduate mentors, a school partner, and a researcher work together to provide art-based activities that engage girls in concepts of well-being. She studies how girls define and experience well-being in the face of trauma.

Additionally, she researches and facilitates restorative justice practices in university and K–12 settings. She critically examines restorative practices and believes the future success of the movement lies in grounding the practice in anti-oppressive theory and trauma-informed care. She has also conducted research and advocacy around several women’s health issues, including ending human trafficking and building programs that sustain and affirm the lifelong well-being of women and girls who have experienced trauma.

When she is not teaching or researching, she enjoys swimming with her family, reading mystery novels, and caring for her rescued dog and cat.