I have a strong record of:
Developing policy and translating it into action,
leading teams to make an impact,
implementing real and lasting change,
taking a rigorous approach to finding solutions,
working with complex ideas,
coming up with strategy and producing results,
relentless commitment to inclusive partnerships
holding a vision and meeting benchmarks, and
sharing ideas through public speaking, workshops, blogs, social media, and other tools.
My Background
I have a master's degree in human development with expertise in communications, public policy, social work, and research. I have more than 15 years of experience in government, university, and non-profit settings.
I collaborate with change-makers to innovate and execute strategies that make a difference.
Throughout my career I have fostered critical partnerships, organized summits and public meetings, and driven strategic planning and action to impact social policy. I have advised local, state, and regional, political and community leaders on how to make an impact. I have initiated, driven, and followed up on projects and processes to address complex social issues related to human rights, health care, affordable housing, and homelessness.
I can communicate effectively with people, and I value diversity and inclusion. I work collaboratively with colleagues and community members from a variety of roles and backgrounds. I have a strong history of evaluating research, writing reports and creating resources that help people make informed decisions. I coach and support high-level decision makers so that they can ask the right questions and take action. I effectively work with groups of any size to build knowledge and stimulate collective action.
I leverage a systems perspective to drive my work and I track progress to ensure lasting results. I am successful in creating teams and building team spirit. I also have extensive project experience, can manage large projects on time, develop clear goals and strategies, create effective programs, manage public and private resources, monitor progress, make critical decisions and handle confidential information.
I am effective with information processing, digital communication, content creation, and problem solving. My communication and technical skills are transferable to a variety of platforms, allowing me to adapt to the culture and needs of my work environment.
Work Experience
Collaborator and Coach Current Role | Based in Philadelphia, PA
Policy Advisor San Francisco Mayor’s Office 2020-2023| San Francisco, CA
As a Policy Advisor on Homelessness to Mayor London Breed, I supported the Mayor’s vision to end homelessness and address street conditions. I directly worked with City agencies and their staff to meet time-sensitive, critical goals set by the Mayor. I established and maintained strong relationships with community partners, funders, and researchers. During my time as policy advisor, the City and its partners reduced homelessness by 3.5% overall, and decreased unsheltered homelessness by 15%.
Project Specialist North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness 2019-2020 | North Carolina & California
Working remotely from California and on location in North Carolina, I supported the agency’s work with the State of North Carolina by leading conversations with state and local partners to end homelessness in North Carolina. Additionally, I supported public and private networks throughout the state to adopt and implement policies designed to increase access to housing.
Consultant
2017-2019 | Luleå, Sweden & California, USA
While living abroad in Sweden subsequently, from my home in California, I leveraged my expertise to help agencies and leaders make smart decisions that get results.
Regional Coordinator US Interagency Council on Homelessness
2011 to 2016 | Washington, D.C.
I traveled throughout the United States to share information and stimulate action to end homelessness. The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness is a federal agency in the United States which has 19 of the 22 US federal agencies on its board, which answers directly to the administration. The agency drives the implementation of the Federal Plan to End Homelessness and increases access to affordable housing. My work included fostering communication, stimulating action, supporting high-level negotiations, and driving projects with federal, regional, state, and local partners. During my tenure, I was directly responsible for coordinating with 16 states and their jurisdictions, including California and cities like San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles.
Director, Asheville-Buncombe Homeless Initiative City of Asheville, North Carolina
2006 to 2011 | Asheville, NC
I led the city and county’s efforts to end homelessness. At that time, over 500 people were experiencing homelessness on any given night in Asheville-Buncombe, North Carolina. Our work resulted in a 75% decline in homelessness. I had managerial responsibility for staff, budget, and the strategic plan to end homelessness. I led the collection and analysis of data and reported directly to elected officials and other key decision-makers. To finance and run the project, I coordinated over 30 nonprofit organizations as well as partners from the university, the business sector, faith groups, and advocate organizations. My budget liability was over $1 million in federal, state, and local contributions.
Education
I concentrated on how public social services programs effect human development. My published thesis is "Early Care and Education Quality - A comparison between subsidized and non- subsidized 3-5 year childcare in Delaware"
Specific areas of focus:
Political and government systems
Economic and political science
Theories of human development
Poverty and neighborhoods
Child and parent relationships
Research methods
Statistics
M.S. Human Development
University of Delaware
Magna cum laude
2002 to 2004
B.S. Social Work
University of Southern Maine
Magna cum laude
1995 to 2000
Endorsement:
“Amy Sawyer is one of the brightest minds in the United States on creating solutions to homelessness. She has worked in the White House in the Obama administration to the streets of San Francisco and North Carolina and all the in between spaces. She excels at finding the common ground and the path forward for both immediate care and long term change. She’s been a trusted leader and competent practitioner and a connector in the movement to end homelessness. I can’t recommend her highly enough.”
“Every time I had the opportunity to connect with Amy, I left the conversation with a deeper perspective / a new idea / renewed passion. Amy is a change agent. She brings a unique lense to complex social issues because she is able to clarify, simplify, and think of a strategic way forward by untying knots, making connections, and holistically spurring improvement. She is a rare gem, especially around the complex social issue of homelessness.”
“Amy Sawyer was my go-to person at the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness when I wanted to get something done. She is deeply passionate about the human rights of persons experiencing homelessness, and worked daily to creatively and effectively use all the levers of the federal government to end and prevent homelessness in America. Her knowledge and experience are broad, but I am most grateful to her for our multiple collaborations in bringing a human rights analysis to the issue of criminalization of homelessness, and I believe our joint legacy in this area is that we changed the baseline of the federal conversation on criminalization to one that recognizes it as a human rights violation, and demands (and has obtained) policy changes as a result. Most people experiencing homelessness in America will never know her name, but her work has meaningfully improved literally hundreds of thousands of lives, and those of us who do know will always be happy to thank her for it!”
Blog
Much of the work I do relies on my ability to work with groups of people and individuals who agree on what they don’t like, but are less familiar with what they want to do about it, or even if they want to be involved in taking action together. There is no one single way to support people in order to effect change, but I think there are some common themes