Amanda Kim

Advocating for All

On March 11, 2020, Amanda Kim was at work as a supervisor and clinical lead at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD) in California.

She found it difficult to focus, as she couldn't help but notice that the news on TV screens flickered with an alarming message: the U.S. had declared a state of emergency because of the coronavirus.

Over the next few weeks, all services for her patients, from one-on-one therapy to family support services to clinical supervision, could no longer be provided. The only form of service her clinic could offer was via Zoom, which was not only challenging but highly ineffective for the population Kim worked with.

"I wanted to partake in a bigger role in public health research to help driver bigger changes in the system of care, policies, and research"

Kim, who has a master’s in applied behavior analysis and a bachelor’s degree in psychology, first started with people with autism spectrum disorder in 2013. Kim loved supporting families and caregivers and helping her patients find “lightbulb” moments as a therapist and clinician.

But her patient’s experiences and struggle to receive care in months following the outbreak of COVID-19 left her frustrated and convinced that there was more she could do to help her patients.  

“I stepped out of the individualized 1:1 clinic setting because of the ways I saw the system failing these families and children,” Kim said. “I wanted to partake in a bigger role in public health research to help drive bigger changes in the system of care, policies, and research.” 

Kim began researching master’s programs that would allow her to improve policy and care for autism and developmental disabilities. The Department of Mental Health at BSPH was a natural fit: not only did the program focus on “bigger picture” questions surrounding health outcomes, but also a dedicated autism center—the Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities.

She applied to the Master of Health Science program in 2021 and began her studies in August of that year. She earned her degree in 2022 and is now a second-year PhD student in the Department of Mental Health. 

"It's a unique, amazing structure that the School has. It's given me the opportunity to explore."

“I knew of public health, but it wasn’t an area that I would have imagined going into,” Kim said. “But [the Bloomberg School) was the only school I applied to for my master’s and doctoral programs,” Kim said. “I was very set that this was where I wanted to get my training and my education.” 

 Since entering the doctoral program, Kim has become an AIR-P (Autism Research Intervention on Physical Health) scholar. The program provides funding for her to support her research, which is focused on the co-occurrence of Autism Spectrum Disorder and eating disorders. 

Kim is also involved in the research study ECHO (Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes) at the Wendy Klag Center, where she works as a student research assistant.

She is set to graduate in May 2027 and plans to continue working in academia and eventually expand her research internationally.

“It’s a unique, amazing structure that the School has,” Kim said. “It’s given me the opportunity to explore.”