Amanda Nordstrom
Amanda joins FIRE after more than 11 years at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), where she investigated and exposed animal abuse hidden behind locked laboratory doors at colleges, universities, and other animal experimentation facilities. Amanda grew up in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and received her B.A. in Women’s Studies from The University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated summa cum laude and won an award for her senior thesis in 2005. While studying at Penn, Amanda worked in the legal clinic at the Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights in Philadelphia. She graduated with honors from Rutgers University School of Law in 2009, founded the Rutgers chapter of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, and served as a teaching assistant for the Legal Research and Writing class. During law school, she interned for a number of nonprofit legal services organizations, including Women Against Abuse, South Jersey Legal Services, and the American Anti-Vivisection Society. After graduation, Amanda was honored to serve as a judicial law clerk in the New Jersey Superior Court. Amanda adores her pug and cats, and in her free time, she can often be found at thrift stores, stand-up comedy shows, and rock, punk, and heavy metal concerts. She’s an exhibited embroidery artist, and one of her pieces was featured at Philadelphia’s nearby National Liberty Museum.
Recent Writings
- When shouting silences speaking: Disinvitations, shoutdowns, and civil disobedience,
- Medical College of Wisconsin backs out of hosting symposium citing concerns about controversial speakers,
- Protestors chased down Riley Gaines after her campus speech. SFSU says it’s ‘proud’ of the event’s handling.,
- OUTRAGEOUS: SFSU students shout down Riley Gaines and accost her after event,
- NYU grad student employee fired, investigated for writing on garbage,
- Black Hills State University Director of Public Safety censored, cursed at student group recruiting on public sidewalk,
- ‘Your words are violence!’ Cornell students shout down Ann Coulter in latest heckler’s veto to roil campuses this semester,
- Tennessee Tech still investigating, enforcing event ban on LGBTQ+ and theater groups that hosted drag show,
- FIRE to Mount Holyoke College: Students, faculty can’t be forced to make land acknowledgements,
- FIRE dresses down Tennessee Tech for punishing student groups over drag show,
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