Amanda Ortega

About Amanda Ortega

I am a senior applied researcher and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) professional with more than 13+ years of experience. I have focused on policy and program research on issues related to positive youth development; gender, women, and girls; education; workforce development; labor rights; and humanitarian assistance. I have worked with a diverse set of clients and donors including the US Government, UNICEF, the Interamerican Development Bank, BHP, Caterpillar Foundation, Microsoft, PepsiCo Foundation, PepsiCo Inc, Rodan + Fields, TK Foundation, and Walmart Foundation. My technical research and MEL areas include complexity-aware and participatory methods (participatory action research, most significant change, outcome harvesting), developing and managing performance monitoring systems (theories of change, results frameworks, MEL plans, indicators, tools, MIS), and designing and conducting process and performance evaluations both internally and as a third-party evaluator using a utilization-focused eval approach and co-creation. I am a native bilingual speaker of Spanish and English.

Experience

1. Senior Researcher

   American Institutes for Research

   Apr 2021 — Present · Washington, DC, US

   Director, Combatting Domestic Worker Labor Rights Exploitation in Mexico (2025-present). Oversee the technical and management direction of the project, including a Participatory Action Research (PAR) study and partner capacity strengthening, using an intersectional approach.•MEL Team Lead, International Labor Rights and Workforce Portfolio (20••••25). Lead MEL strategy and oversight for a $60 million portfolio of DOL/ILAB funded labor rights programs in Mexico and Honduras. Lead the portfolio\'s transition to complexity-aware MEL approach, including using outcome harvesting and focusing on learning. Oversee MEL staff, design a common MEL framework to inform project MEL plans, design learning agendas, provide quality assurance. Serve as Team Lead on special studies, including needs assessments and evaluations.•Youth Advisor/MEL QA, MEL partner to Entrena on USAID/Dominican Republic Youth Lead Activity (20••••25).•MEL Lead, USAID/LAC, LAC Reads Capacity Program (20••••22). Oversee the program\'s MEL Plan, provide MEL capacity support to NGO partners, and support continuous learning. •Youth Specialist, UNICEF/Lebanon, Impact Evaluation of the TVET Programme (20••••22). Provide PYD and workforce development advisory, soft skills measurement framework, and Most Significant Change component. •Assessment Team Lead, USAID/BHA, Graduating to Resilience: Nutrition and WASH Assessment (2021). Lead the 6-month Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) assessment focused on Nutrition and WASH changes in KAP as a result of programming among refugees and host communities in Kamwenge, Uganda. •Qualitative Lead, USAID/BHA, Graduating to Resilience: Youth Assessment (2021). Lead the qualitative component of the 6-month youth assessment focused on assessing youths\' meaningful engagement in the program through a PYD lens. •Evaluation Advisor, USAID/North Macedonia, Summative Performance Evaluation of the USAID Civic Engagement Project (2021).

Education

• Hofstra University

  Bachelor of Arts - BA, Anthropology

• American University

  Master of Arts - MA, International Relations and Affairs

Skills

• Sustainability
• Editing
• Team Leadership
• Sharepoint
• Grant Writing
• Outcome Measures
• Intercultural Communication
• Spss
• Literature Reviews
• Ethnography
• Spanish
• Teaching English as a Second Language
• Salesforce.com
• Policy Analysis
• Travel
• Microsoft Office
• Permaculture
• Program Evaluation
• Human Rights
• Teamwork
• Highly Adaptable
• Lesson Planning
• M&E
• Research
• International Relations
• Qualitative Research
• Quantitative Research
• Fundraising
• Nvivo
• Adaptation
• Government
• Nonprofits
• Teaching English
• Report Writing
• Tefl
• Program Management