Dr. Amara Enyia is a Public Policy expert on city and state policy as well as international affairs/foreign policy with expertise in Central Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. She writes extensively on issues of education, economic development, fiscal policy, equity in policy, and systems thinking.
Dr. Enyia has worked in various policy areas including economic development, public finance, housing, education, food security, environmental policy, and community development. She holds a Masters degree in education, a law degree, and a PhD in Education Policy. In addition to her public policy consulting work, Dr. Enyia is a political consultant and strategist. She is the Founder and Director of the Institute for Cooperative Economics and Economic Innovation (ICEEI), an entity that seeks to diversify the economic ecosystem through educating, advocating and developing policy for cooperative economic models and financing tools that support cooperative enterprises.
She serves on the national leadership team for the Public Banking Institute, advocating for and assisting municipalities and statewide elected officials looking to establish a public bank. She serves as the Executive Director of the Austin Chamber of Commerce where she oversees business creation and accountability and leads community economic development initiatives. She also serves as Policy Consultant for various communitybased organizations. Dr. Enyia has worked at the top level of city government, has managed a municipality, run non-profits, and continues to work as a grassroots organizer.
She serves on the boards of the Chicago Community Loan Fund, the Communities First Association, and Life Development Center. She maintains proficiency in Igbo, Spanish, French and Portuguese and was named a Public Policy Global Leadership Fellow with the Global Strategists Association. Dr. Enyia serves as a regular commentator and contributor on policy and politics for various media outlets.