Leadership

Amy Shelton, Ph.D., was appointed CTY’s executive director in October 2022. She leads the center in advancing its vision and brings to the role a thorough understanding of CTY operations, student and family needs and expectations, and a commitment to research and evidence-based teaching and curriculum.

Shelton served as CTY’s senior director for research from 2013-2022. From January 2019 to July 2020, she led CTY in an interim capacity, navigating the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges it posed for CTY, its students, and their families. A professor and associate dean for research in the Johns Hopkins School of Education, Shelton holds joint appointments in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.

Before joining CTY, Shelton was on the Psychological and Brain Sciences faculty at JHU from 2002-13. Her research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience focuses on spatial skills, individual differences, and mechanisms of learning, couched in the broad context of understanding the characterization and needs of each individual learner. She has a track record of publications in major academic journals and grant support. She has an M.A. and Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Vanderbilt University.