AMITA SWADHIN

Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service

Master of Public Administration, May 2010

Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy

Specialization: Policy

Bio and Resume (.pdf)

Amita Swadhin is dedicated to creating learning opportunities that empower people to challenge internalized, interpersonal and institutional oppression. Since 1999, she has worked as a program manager, educator, youth organizer and consultant at nonprofits, public schools, and universities in New York City. She believes policymakers and social entrepreneurs have a responsibility to involve directly affected constituents in crafting solutions to social problems. A survivor of child abuse and domestic violence, Amita resolved to amplify youth voices in public policy while still in high school.

Amita began working against violence against women and children in Washington, DC, as an intern at the Department of Justice's Violence Against Women Office and an organizer of Take Back the Night. She earned a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown, and continued her work at NOW Legal Defense Fund in New York City.

After 9/11, wanting to prevent bias and hate crimes against Arab and South Asian people, Amita became a Senior Trainer at Global Kids, a nonprofit empowering urban youth to take action on local and global human rights issues. There, she created and led school-based programs for more than 2,000 public high school students over four years.

From 2005-2007, Amita served as the Youth Power Project Coordinator at Make the Road by Walking, coordinating a department of seven staff members, fundraising, and supervising after-school programs. Under her leadership, the program doubled to 50 core youth and over 500 participants.

Before matriculating at New York University, Amita served as the College Liaison to the Kingsborough Early College Secondary School, designing college readiness initiatives for a new school offering free college courses to students historically underrepresented in higher education. She is also a Planning Team member of the Sunset Park Education in Action Community (SPEAC) School in Brooklyn, mobilizing support and designing a model to establish a public school focused on community wellness, social justice and academic rigor.

At NYU, Amita has led dialogues within the Reynolds and Wagner School communities exploring connections between social entrepreneurship and social justice, and between power, privilege and policymaking. As a Reynolds Fellow, she is exploring best practices in urban education reform. To this end, she is a summer 2009 Education Pioneers Fellow, working with the Broad Foundation in Los Angeles to create toolkits for participants in their Residency. After graduation, Amita hopes to create and support public schools that prepare students to become both successful college students and advocates for social justice.