Senior Policy Analyst in the Center on Education and Labor at New America; Lecturer in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at University of Illinois at Chicago
About
Dr. Mauriell Amechi is a social scientist, professor, consultant, and keynote speaker with an enduring commitment to educational equity, particularly improving postsecondary education and workforce outcomes and opportunities for marginalized learners. Previously, Professor Amechi served on the Old Dominion Univ. and the Univ. of Redlands faculty, producing policy-relevant research and teaching classes in higher education/student affairs administration. His research agenda aims to understand and identify protective factors and policies that ensure more equitable educational experiences outcomes among adult learners and adolescents aging out of foster care. His novel research agenda emphasizes the emic (insider) perspective, based on the presumption that oppressed communities possess solutions to the conundrums they face within their wisdom. He is also the Founder of Foster Youth Empowered LLC, which supports adolescents aging out of foster care through motivational keynotes and workshops, drawing upon critical lessons from his lived experiences. Furthermore, he frequently serves as an educational consultant on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Dr. Amechi's peer-reviewed journal publications appear in the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, Review of Higher Education, Journal of African American Males in Education, and the Journal of the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition (JFYSIT), to name a few. His applied research has been featured in venues such as New America, The Education Trust, and Third Way. In addition, he contributes to the field through service commitments, serving on editorial boards for JFYESIT and the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice. He also remains active in professional associations, frequently presenting research at the American Educational Research Association and the Association for the Study of Higher Education. Dr. Amechi is also affiliate faculty at the Office of Community College Research and Leadership at the Univ. of Illinois and a Visiting Scholar at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice at Rutgers Univ.
Current Work:
Dr. Amechi’s current project focuses on paid work-based learning programs—a workforce development initiative at community colleges that aims to enhance student retention, foster career exploration, and create more viable workforce pathways. In a forthcoming report, he draws on case methodology to explore the characteristics of six work-based learning programs across the U.S. Findings from this study have important implications for college stakeholders in career services, academic advising, and workforce development.
Research Area Keyword(s):
Workforce Development; Career and Technical Education; Racial Equity, Foster Youth, intersectionality, College Access; Student Persistence, Critical theory, Qualitative inquiry
