Degree: MS in Child and Family Studies
Hometown: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Fun Fact: Amis is the co-founder of MUSE School
in Calabasas, California, along with her sister
Suzy Amis Cameron, wife of Hollywood director James Cameron.
About her work at MUSE School: Amis has overseen the vision of the school for nearly eleven years, using her skills and insights into student-led curriculum, psychology, parent-child relations, social-emotional development, and process communication. At MUSE, students (age 2 through 12th grade) allow their passions to guide all they do. The school also is an environmental school where young people are prepared to live consciously with themselves, one another, and the planet.
Favorite part of her job: Working with students and creating programs and curriculum for all grades.
How did CEHHS prepare you for your job? Working in the CDL, Amis became enamored with the Reggio Emilia approach as well as social-emotional development. She learned about creating a child-centered school and went on to educate teachers about a learner-centered approach to teaching as well as creating schools that followed that same approach.
About her family: “I am so grateful for my family. I grew up in Oklahoma and am part of a big family—I’m the youngest of six. One year after I graduated from UT, I gave birth to my first daughter, Maggie, and two years later to my son, Harper. I am lucky enough to have a bonus child, Derrien—my husband’s son, who is 21. Maggie and Derrien are both in college, and Harper is a senior in high school.”
Favorite UT memory: “Not being an avid football fan, I don’t know if this is my favorite memory, but it’s a funny one. Being a dedicated grad student, I woke early one Saturday morning and decided to study in the library that day. Unbeknownst to me, there was a football game in progress, and I happened upon tons of traffic and no parking. I did not go to the library that day and learned my lesson about trying to go to the library on
a game day.”
Photo by Brandon Hickman