She received her B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from Universidad del Norte, Colombia. She got a M.Sc. in Industrial and Systems Engineering, from University of Florida and completed her PhD. in Transportation Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Ms. Amaya is an Eno Fellow and recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. Her research interests are urban freight transportation, disaster response logistics and operations management. She has several publications in such areas; has been part of various research projects, committees, and panels.