Amy Nantkes, Ph.D.

Dr. Amy Nantkes joined PLNU in 2017 and serves as Director of the BA and MA in Public Administration programs and Assistant Professor of Political Science. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Claremont Graduate University, an M.A. in Social Entrepreneurship and Change from Pepperdine University, and a B.A. in Cross-Cultural
Studies from North Central University.
 

Her research examines how political rhetoric and public policy shape the experiences of immigrants and women in the United States, with broader interests in social welfare, inequality, and poverty reduction. Recent projects include studies on gentrification in San Diego, Indigenous and traditional research methods, and Native American voting rights.
 

Dr. Nantkes serves as a Commissioner on the San Diego County Commission on the Status of Women and Girls and as an Advisory Board Member for CEDAW Rising. In 2024, she represented San Diego County as a delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Before academia, she spent nearly two decades leading nonprofit initiatives and large-scale community programs across California and abroad.