Mauriell H. Amechi, Ph.D.

Social Scientist, Professor, and DEI Consultant in Chicago, IL

Mauriell H. Amechi, Ph.D.

Social Scientist, Professor, and DEI Consultant in Chicago, IL

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Dr. Mauriell Amechi is a social scientist, professor, consultant, and nationally sought-after speaker with an enduring commitment to social justice and educational equity, particularly improving college and workforce transitions and outcomes for marginalized students. Previously, he served on the Old Dominion University and the University 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 and workforce outcomes among 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.

In 2020, Dr. Amechi founded Foster Youth Empowered, LLC, a mission-driven consulting firm that endeavors to close persistent inequities in high school and college completion among underserved adolescents impacted by foster care systems, drawing upon the latest research and critical lessons from his lived experiences. He also frequently consults on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues in education.

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 a Visiting Scholar at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice at Rutgers University.

Born and raised in Chicago, the West Side native is a proud alumnus of Chicago Public Schools. He earned a B.A. from the University of Illinois and M.A. from the Ohio State University. He also holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

He enjoys travel, sports, cycling, and performing arts in his free time.

  • Work
    • Foster Youth Empowered, LLC
  • Education
    • University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
    • Ohio State University
    • University of Wisconsin-Madison
    • University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Testimonials
It was a sincere pleasure working with Dr. Amechi as a contributor to Third Way’s ACADEMIX Upshot policy brief series in June 2020. Dr. Amechi’s report on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on postsecondary students aging out of the foster care system offers tremendous insight for state and federal legislators, and his research and advocacy on behalf of this critical yet often overlooked student population have far-reaching implications for meaningful policy reform.
Michelle Domino, Education Senior Policy Advisor, Third Way
I had the pleasure of working with Dr. Amechi who was the keynote of the California State University Monterey Bay Guardian Scholars - Foster Care Awareness event in May 2019. This was the first time the Guardian Scholars Program hosted a scholar to bring awareness about the obstacles and resilience of foster youth navigating higher education. His research and passion advocating for foster youth in higher education left an imprint on the Guardian Scholars Program and the greater CSUMB community.
Keyiona Ritchey, Guardian Scholars Advisor, Cal State Univ, Monterey Bay
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