Excellence Award 2024 | Julie Amador
Julie Amador, Ph.D., is associate dean of research in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, and a professor of Mathematics Education at University of Idaho. She received her doctorate in 2010 from the University of Nevada, completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Indiana University and joined U of I faculty in 2012, working in Coeur d’Alene. Julie is currently Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on four National Science Foundation funded projects, all focused on mathematics education. She actively leads funded projects from the Idaho State Department of Education and Idaho State Board of Education. Her research focuses on the professional noticing of students’ mathematical thinking in a K-12 educational context and how teachers and teacher educators attend to and interpret mathematical thinking. In the last decade, Amador has been the lead on more than $10 million in external funding projects to U of I and been co-lead on another $8 million in external funding. She has published 62 articles in blind-peer reviewed academic journals, with multiple articles in the highest quality journals in both Teacher Education and Mathematics Education.
Additionally, she has given more than 100 conference talks in the last decade, presenting her work in five different continents. Most recently, she gave several invited talks as a visiting professor at universities in Chile, all centered on her research focus of professional noticing. She will travel to Australia this summer to share her research work at the International Congress on Mathematics Education. Dr. Amador is also the Director of the Idaho Regional Mathematics Center, providing professional development to teachers throughout Idaho. In this work, she leads a team of professional development providers to support teachers’ pedagogical practices with the ultimate goal of improving K-12 students’ mathematical learning.
Julie serves on the Board of Directors for the Coeur d’Alene Rotary Club and the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce, where she advocates for student opportunities and works to enhance the greater Coeur d’Alene community. Julie is married to former Idaho State Legislator, Paul Amador, who currently works in healthcare administration. Together, they have two young boys, Peter and Simon, and the family enjoys spending time outdoors, boating on Lake Coeur d’Alene and traveling.
