The Atlantic Institute has appointed two Leaders-in-residence to collaboratively shape thought leadership to help guide the future policy direction and social impact strategy of the Atlantic community.
We are delighted to announce that they are Dr. Amara Enyia, a public policy and social impact strategist, with experience at local, national and international levels; and Tracy Jooste, Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity, an expert in urban governance and housing policy.
Among positions held, Amara is the managing director of Diaspora Rising, a transnational advocacy hub that works to advocate, educate, amplify and connect issues of concern to the Black Diaspora around the world. She also serves as the policy and research coordinator for the Movement for Black Lives, and is a strategy adviser for organizations, companies, political campaigns, and public sector institutions globally. Previously, she has worked in the Mayor’s Office for the City of Chicago, and served as executive director of community-based organizations. As a grassroots organizer she worked on issues of education equity, economic justice and environmental justice.
Tracy is the Head of Special Projects at International Budget Partnership (IBP) South Africa, a non-profit that supports grassroots organizations in informal settlements to campaign for improved services using budget advocacy and community-based monitoring tools. She has led advocacy, research, and policy review initiatives in this role and steered the expansion of IBP South Africa’s work to the health and gender sectors.
During their six-month term with the Institute, they will work with the Atlantic community to deepen understanding of:
- The relationship between policy and social change in the community.
- How the Atlantic Institute and Atlantic Fellows community can accelerate policy change toward the eradication of inequities.
- Different forms of support that could be offered to the community to scaffold their work in policy change.
- Other values-aligned organizations that might be engaged to accelerate policy change work.