Mauriell H. Amechi, Ph.D.
Social Scientist, Policy Expert, and Consultant in Chicago, IL
Dr. Mauriell Amechi is an accomplished scholar, professor, policy expert, and advocate recognized for his unwavering commitment to social justice and educational equity. With previous experience as a faculty member at Old Dominion University and the University of Redlands, Dr. Amechi has produced innovative policy-driven research and has trained educators and researchers entering the field of higher education. His research agenda focuses on identifying protective factors and policies that ensure more equitable educational experiences and workforce outcomes for marginalized students, with a particular emphasis on adolescents aging out of foster care. In 2020, Dr. Amechi founded Foster Youth Empowered, a consulting firm dedicated to addressing persistent inequities in high school and college completion for underserved adolescents impacted by foster care systems.
Along with numerous published commentaries, Dr. Amechi has shared his expertise to prominent news outlets, including but not limited to Inside Higher Education, Higher Ed Dive, Imprint News, Civil Eats, the 74, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Imprint News spotlighted his work as a top op-ed of 2023. With extensive training in qualitative methodology, Amechi's academic journal publications center the voices and lived experiences of historically marginalized and underserved populations. His scholarly publications appear in various outlets, such as 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.
Furthermore, he has contributed to the education field through service commitments, including serving on editorial boards for JFYESIT and the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, and presenting research at professional associations such as the American Educational Research Association and the Association for the Study of Higher Education.
Born and raised on Chicago's west side, Dr. Amechi is a proud alumnus of Chicago Public Schools and first-generation college graduate. He holds a B.A. from the University of Illinois, an M.A. from the Ohio State University, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He enjoys traveling, sports, cycling, and the performing arts in his free time.