Amara Pérez
Director of the Office of Community Involvement
Multnomah County Office of Community Involvement
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Originally from Tampa, Florida, Amara is a long-time popular educator, participatory action researcher, and equity strategist. Guided by equity-informed practices, she has worked for nearly 30 years in service to civic engagement, leadership development, and systems-change.
Beginning with her work as a youth organizer in North and Northeast Portland for over a decade, Amara supported the leadership of middle and high school girls to take action on local equity issues. Then, Amara served as Director of a campus Multicultural Center at Portland Community College to support the leadership and engagement of students of color while working at the district level to develop racial equity strategies for inclusion. More recently, Amara has partnered with educational institutions and local architecture firms to integrate socio-spatial equity approaches in facilities planning and capital construction projects. Her extensive background in designing strategies for inclusive outreach and participatory engagement, has uniquely supported the involvement of people most impacted by inequities to generate community-driven input and ideas for change.
Amara's experience advancing institutional change, combined with her community-based experience, has enabled her to work with a range of stakeholders across various sectors. Her commitment to equitable and effective community engagement will support the strategic direction of the Office of Community Involvement.
Amara earned her doctorate in Cultural Foundations of Education at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, a M.S. in Educational Leadership and Policy at Portland State University, and a B.A. in Sociology at Randolph-Macon Woman's College.