Amanda Purington is our guest this episode. She and host Janis Whitlock discuss Amanda's work on Social Media TestDrive, a program that gives youth a safe, simulated online experience. TestDrive also sparks conversations between youth, youth practitioners and parents about online safety, cyberbullying, and positive online experiences. Amanda has long-standing relationships with various non-researcher stakeholders and talks about the ways those rich connections improve both practice and research.

Amanda Purington is the director of evaluation and research for ACT for Youth within the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research. She also studies communication as a PhD student within the Social Media Lab at Cornell University. Professionally and academically, Amanda is passionate about using research and evaluation to promote the health and well-being of youth.