Amanda Trimillos, EdD, is an Air Force spouse, mother, and National Board-Certified Teacher with extensive experience teaching military students in the United States and overseas. She is coauthor of Seasons of My Military Student: Practical Ideas for Parents and Teachers (June 2018) and wrote the essay “School Choices and Changes” in Stories Around the Table: Laughter, Wisdom, and Strength in Military Life.
“As a military wife and teacher of military students, I could clearly recognize seasons of change and challenges specific to my students but did not always know how to support them through each season,” Amanda says. “After having my own children and seeing firsthand their experiences in a military family, I began extensive research and classroom strategy development. I hope my dual perspective as both teacher and mother provides insight into the real challenges our kids face and ways we can advocate and support for them in their everyday situations.”
Amanda is a professional development designer in the NBC Teacher Leadership Department of National University, San Diego. She has served as a mentor for the US Department of Education’s “Teach to Lead” trainings, giving voice to teacher leaders throughout the US. Amanda holds a doctorate in teacher leadership through Concordia University Chicago, where she has focused her dissertation on the professional development of teachers working with military-connected students.
In twenty years of military life, Amanda has experienced eight moves and six deployments. She says, “I had no connection to the military before I met my husband. When we married, I decided to make our marriage an adventure: I stormed castles in England with a wooden sword, volunteered in the White House, ate rattle snake in Oklahoma, and swam with sharks in Hawaii. Now, my most awe-inspiring adventure is watching my own children grow and explore the world that is open to them because they were born into a military family.”
Amanda currently lives with her husband and four children in Ramstein, Germany.
