Amber Washington is an experienced communications professional and event planner with significant experience in curating and creating content on racial equity and social justice issues.
As a senior associate at PolicyLink, a national public policy research and action non-profit organization, Amber managed the production of the national conference “Equity Summit 2015” where she partnered with Los Angeles community leaders and government officials to create engaging programmatic content for the event.
As the first social media manager at PolicyLink, Amber grew the reach and visibility of the organization across multiple platforms. She also trained staff to help them find their online “voice” to further establish them as professional experts in their program areas, as well as collaborated with teams to develop interactive campaigns to help constituents to take action on pending legislation. One of her most exciting projects was serving as the creator and executive producer of Equity Speaks, a PolicyLink podcast series featuring national public figures.
Why are you a strategist for good?
“I am a strategist for good because I believe it is important to help give voice to those who are often times underrepresented and left voiceless in their communities. I am particularly fond of utilizing social and mobile communications strategies for good because you can reach most people instantly via smart phones, which have become central focus points of people’s daily lives.”
What’s your superpower?
“My superpower is operations and event management. From small meetings to thousand-person conferences, I can make a plan for it and stay on budget! Moreover, I have a hyper-sense for detail and it comes in handy when you are working to create engaging and memorable experiences for people. I just put myself in the mind frame of ‘If I was a participant, what would excite me?’”
Who is your intellectual crush?
“It was hard to choose an intellectual crush, but I decided to go with Ta-Nehisi Coates. I think his writings and public commentary on the state of modern race relations are thoughtful, poignant, and accessible cross culturally while giving proper historical context to institutionalized racism. He is inspiring people to have challenging conversations and examine their privilege, which is always a good thing.”
